The deaths of five people in two days devastated families in Co Donegal. But the horror does not end there: twelve people have been killed on Irish roads since Sunday including two in Kildare and Meath earlier this week and another in Co Galway early yesterday. The causes of individual incidents vary and are sometimes uncertain, but the underlying pattern in road deaths involves drink driving, speeding and a failure to wear seat belts. What is particularly worrying is that, after years of education campaigns and active law enforcement that brought dramatic improvements, the death rate is rising again. If this trend continues, it is predicted that a further 80 people will die by the end of the year.
The Road Safety Authority has crunched the statistics to establish what age group of motorists is most vulnerable; where and when crashes occur and the likely causes. It has been a useful exercise but if drivers and passengers do not take responsibility for their own actions it will have little impact. Once again, drink driving has been identified as the main killer. But there has been a sharpening of language in condemning it. RSA chief executive Moyagh Murdock spoke of "an epidemic of drink" in rural areas, compared to Dublin, while the Garda Síochána appealed to members of the public to report intending inebriated drivers or they could have "blood on their hands".
A stark urban/rural divide exists in terms of tolerance for drink driving. There are solid reasons for it. Rural politicians and vintners campaigned aggressively against a reduction in blood alcohol levels and argued it would damage pub trade and affect elderly farmers. In their scenario a drunken farmer was less likely to kill himself than a sober boy racer. But life isn’t like that. Boy racers also drink and, if it is acceptable for older people, why not them? On the basis of the number of cars outside rural pubs, particularly during the most dangerous holiday periods, using local taxis has not become the norm. The level of Garda enforcement will have to rise.
The treatment of motoring offences in court by some legal practitioners creates the impression that obeying the law is almost an optional extra. Too often, esoteric detail is invoked to secure acquittal in cases of obvious guilt. The risk of death on the roads is too important to be treated like an intellectual game, especially when motorists who have risked their own lives and those of others escape without penalty, and public confidence in the application of justice is shaken.
The coming holiday weekend is one of the most dangerous periods on our roads. Drivers in the 26-35 age bracket are most at risk, but those over 65 years come a close second. Drink driving is a recipe for death and disability, as is speeding and a refusal to buckle up. Changing such destructive behaviour will require greater personal responsibility and care for other road users.