Madam, - This State has the worst drivers in western Europe - hundreds of thousands are untested, unlicensed or uninsured. We have the worst roads in western Europe - badly built, badly maintained and badly signposted. We have the worst enforcement: the traffic corps is too small and basic rules and laws are ignored and flouted all day, every day and everywhere.
With political will and direction this disgraceful situation could be corrected. Sadly, it will not happen. - Yours, etc,
OLIVER ROGERS, Rahardrum, Virginia, Co Cavan.
Madam, - I refer to the remarks made by Father Martin O'Reilly at the funeral of two of the young men who were killed in the tragic crash in Co Monaghan last weekend.
Fr O'Reilly claimed there was a collective neglect of the children of this country by their parents and responsible adults. But The truth is that most young people and their parents act responsibly. Without wishing to make a judgment on how these five deaths occurred, I fail to see how the social changes brought about by economic improvement have anything to do with speeding, dangerous driving and unlicensed driving. These phenomena predate the economic boom. - Yours, etc,
BILL ROBERTS, Dublin 8.
Madam, - The Road Safety Authority says it will be delivering a "suite" of recommendations to the Minister for Transport "within days", aimed at reducing the road death toll among young male drivers (The Irish Times, October 23rd). I was raised in the US and before I took my driving test and got my licence I had 40 hours of one-on-one driving with an instructor and 80 hours of classroom study. A suggestion: get rid of this farce called the "L" driver. Provisional licences are a crock. Either you pass a rigorous test or you don't drive. - Yours, etc,
KEVIN DEVITTE, Westport, Co Mayo.
Madam, - Is there another country in the world that obsesses about road crashes and the resultant death and injury as does Ireland? The blanket media coverage of mangled vehicles and grieving relatives seems to me totally illogical.
As Paul Cullen's article in Monday's edition points out, the number of road deaths has fallen sharply over the past 35 years - from over 600 in the early 1970s to under 400. During this period the number of vehicle journeys and kilometres travelled must have increased exponentially.
Can we not accept the fact that, in a country where a significant number of citizens wish to live in a rural or semi-rural environment, road crashes and the resultant deaths and injuries are inevitable?
We could ban men under the age of 35 from driving at the weekend, track all vehicles by satellite, and fit speed limiters, compel rural dwellers to move to towns and cities, etc, etc. Any measure will cost money and reduce civil liberties. Are we prepared to accept this? - Yours, etc,
HUGH MULLEN, Coulson Avenue, Rathgar, Dublin 6.