The Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar will unveil targets to make significant reduction to the national death toll after the level of fatalities more than halved since 2007.

The focus will also switch to people suffering severe brain, spinal and leg injuries after Road Safety Authority (RSA) figures revealed 485 people were seriously hurt in road accidents last year. They aim to get this figure down to 330 serious injuries a year.

The Government will outline the new 2020 targets which will target further reductions in road deaths after falls of 12% each year for the last two years in a row. The strategy aims to make Ireland one of the safest countries to travel by road in Europe, if not the world.

For every person killed on Europe's roads there are 10 serious injuries such as damage to the brain or spinal cord. Ireland now ranks among the top five safest countries in the EU for fatal road traffic accidents. According to the RSA, there was a 56% decrease in road deaths and a 51% reduction in serious injuries up to the end of 2011 since the third road safety strategy was launched in 2007.