This paper focuses on how Ireland, through progressively sharing information and research with other road authorities in the international community, has developed and implemented innovative solutions in order to mitigate the impact of road deaths and serious injuries on its roads. Since 2006 Ireland, along with other European National Road Administrations (NRAs), has agreed to share its road research priorities and to open up research budgets via the CEDR group - Conference of European Road Directors - which facilitates information exchange and experiences of road-related issues at a European level. Among other achievements, this has enabled the organisation of successful transnational calls for research which, in turn, have delivered outstanding research projects which Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has implemented to target its road safety needs. This paper demonstrates how Ireland, through implementing the safe system approach as detailed within these research projects, is seeking to actively reduce road deaths by aiming to minimise the effects of human error along with looking to: - minimise the risk of vehicles leaving the carriageway (e.g. via delineation), - provide adequate recovery space when vehicles do run off the road, and, - ensure that any collision that does occur in the roadside will be with objects that limit the impact forces on vehicle occupants to minor levels (no fatal or serious injury outcomes). This paper also covers how these research topics were developed and implemented so as to complement existing design standards and to influence how designers and motorway operators regard road safety and the whole life cost of collisions.