Inaction on road safety

Madam, - Kevin Myers expresses some bewilderment that there is no public outcry about the unacceptable level of carnage on our…

Madam, - Kevin Myers expresses some bewilderment that there is no public outcry about the unacceptable level of carnage on our roads (An Irishman's Diary, January 10th).

I agree with him, as I have agreed with previous articles he has written on this subject. The Government's consistent failure to provide the long-promised traffic corps and a system which allows people to escape from drink driving charges by dint of legal loopholes (to celebration within the legal profession at the cleverness of such ploys), are cause for despair.

The public's attitude to the sporadic Garda enforcement of road safety measures is even more bewildering. The prevalent attitude seems to be that the Garda would be better employed catching "real criminals" rather than bothering people going about their business.

This is reflected in the attitude of our politicians, who failed to act appropriately following the unacceptable antics of Minister Jim McDaid on the Naas dual-carriageway last year.

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As a first step in addressing this problem, is it possible to start a programme in secondary schools to show young people the consequences of careless or reckless driving? Is this not a subject that ought to form part of the CSPE programme, which I understand is designed to create a proper sense of civic responsibility? - Yours, etc,

MARY HAND,

Hadlegh Green,

Castleknock,

Dublin 15.