Only 30 cases from Traffic Watch

Only 25 per cent of calls to the Garda's Traffic Watch hotline resulted in formal caution during the scheme's two-year pilot period.

The scheme, which allows members of the public to report the dangerous driving of fellow motorists, was piloted in the south east of the country between November 21st, 2001 and February 19th last, after which it was extended nationwide.

In response to a Dáil question, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said that in the two years and three months of the pilot some 3,800 calls were received from members of public.

As a result of these calls approximately 1,000 drivers were formally cautioned by the Garda. There were only 30 prosecutions as a result of the calls, Mr Brennan said.

Chief Supt Denis Fitzpatrick, head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau, speculated that some drivers may not have been located, some cautions may not have been recorded, and some may have "fallen between stools".

Fitzpatrick added it was never anticipated that Traffic Watch would lead to a large amount of prosecutions because most people are not willing to give witness evidence in court.

The figures add fuel to the fire of those who criticise the apparent lack of enforcement of traffic laws as road deaths continue to climb. So far 131 people have died on the State's roads since the start of the year, an increase of 17 on the same period last year.

Speaking the Dáil last week, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, conceded that there were not enough gardaí to police traffic laws. "Currently, 520 gardaí are attached to traffic units. That is a significant number," he said. Asked if it was enough, he replied: "No, in my view it is not enough. As I understand it, the traffic unit works on two shifts. Therefore, at any given time one has to halve that number of 520 to 260 and then has to divide that by the number of counties involved.

"When one divides that number of personnel by each county borough and county one achieves a figure of roughly 10 persons at any given stage available for traffic duties."

The Traffic Watch figures also reveal that since it was extended across the State a total of 841 calls have been received.