The number of deaths on Irish roads has halved since the introduction of the penalty points system for speeding motorists, Garda statistics have shown.
In November, 22 people died as a result of road crashes, compared to 40 in November 2001.
AA spokesman Conor Faughnan said it seemed that the penalty points system, introduced on October 31st, had already had a marked effect on the behaviour of Irish drivers.
"This is very encouraging information from the gardai," he said.
"It certainly looks like drivers have slowed down and road deaths were reduced in the first month of the system."
But Mr Faughnan warned of the danger of relying on statistics based on relatively small numbers.
"November 2002 has shown half the number of road deaths as November 2001, but it is difficult to extrapolate an ongoing trend from that," he said.
"We will need to take a longer time window before we have a better idea of how successful it has been."
He said the rate of speeding detections had also fallen by 25 per cent during November, adding to evidence that the speeding penalties had been successful.
Mr Pat Costello, chief executive of the National Safety Council (NSC), agreed that it was too soon to be speculating about long-term trends.
"There has been a noticeable decrease in the number of speeding cars across the country," he said.
"From our point of view the result is very positive, and we would like to compliment those drivers who have decreased their speed. But it is very short term to be talking about trends."