The Garda is to launch a nationwide campaign aimed at eliminating aggressive driving on Irish roads following a pilot scheme in the south-east.
Under the scheme, known as Traffic Watch, drivers are encouraged to report careless or aggressive drivers by ringing a special 24-hour hotline. All calls are documented and investigated, according to gardaí.
The initiative, which has been piloted in counties Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow and Tipperary, has already led to almost 600 motorists being cautioned over the last 12 months. However, just 10 people have been prosecuted.
Garda sources say most complainants are happy to have a driver cautioned rather than pursuing the matter to court.
The successful prosecutions have involved a range of offences including reckless driving and littering.
More than 4,000 calls were received by the Traffic Watch hotline, the majority of which related to overtaking, tailgating and speeding.
Gardaí also say there was a good response from the public to the reporting of drink-driving, which led to a substantial number of arrests.
Aggressive behaviour is defined by gardaí as any deliberate activity likely to increase the risk of a collision on the road.
Senior members of the Garda have been in talks with the Department of Transport on plans to extend the move nationwide as part of a co-ordinated safety campaign.
At Thomastown Garda station in Co Kilkenny, where the scheme is based, gardaí say the scheme has had a noticeable impact on driver behaviour, helped by the introduction of penalty points.
Over the first year of Traffic Watch, serious injuries in the south-east have been reduced by around a third, while five fewer people died on the road compared to the preceding year.
The scheme has been welcomed by road safety campaigners, but they have warned that more measures are needed to improve drivers' behaviour.
The AA and the Irish Insurance Federation have called on the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to establish a Garda traffic corps. The Government has pledged to establish such a unit in its Programme for Government.
The Minister, Mr Brennan, originally said he wanted the traffic corps operative by January 2003; however, the plans appear to have been shelved.
Meanwhile, there are increasing signs that drivers are returning to their old behaviour on the roads despite the introduction of penalty points. Figures issued this week show an increase in the number of speeding offences over the last two months.
