Lack of resources, ineffective policing, out of date legislation and inadequate coordination of policy across Government departments all contribute to Ireland's unacceptably high number of road deaths each year. Combined with irresponsible attitudes towards drink driving, speeding and the use of seatbelts these factors account for most road fatalities.
Mr Eddie Shaw, chairman of the National Safety Council, said yesterday the number of deaths could be halved if the "unbelievably serious" problem of drink driving was tackled more efficiently. He concentrated on the failure to enforce current laws and the remarkably low rate of drink driving detections compared to the extent of the behavioural problem involved.
He estimates that 30 per cent of car accidents and 40 per cent of fatal crashes are directly attributable to excess alcohol. He reckons that far more effort needs to be put into enforcing the existing legislation, primarily by raising the number of detections from an average of 28 a day to 500. That would shock those responsible sufficiently to alter behaviour, as has happened in other countries where road deaths have been halved in consequence.
Mr Shaw has a record as a trenchant critic of public policy on road safety. He has persistently questioned delays in implementing the Government's Road Safety Strategy and enforcing the law. Much of the problem has to do with the lack of Garda resources devoted to traffic policing.
There is no dedicated traffic corps to conduct drink driving tests, enforce seatbelt usage or monitor speeding. As a result motorists normally assume impunity, or are willing to disregard the sanction of light penalties. The points system promised for a number of years is still pending.
Mr Shaw hopes the forthcoming Road Traffic Bill will provide the extra resources necessary for effective policing and traffic law enforcement. Given the scale of the problems involved he makes a good case that this would be value for money. But given the potential impact on so many motorists as an election approaches we may find expectations played down and further delays involving several Government departments.
Voters should pay close attention to these several layers of incompetence and policy failure, as the number of cars on the roads has mushroomed. Mr Shaw has warned previously about the failure to implement the Road Safety Strategy and the "deadly slow" progress towards developing a drivers' register. His advice on drink driving is equally apposite.