Sir, - A heading in an English journal Care on the Road, which is the official organ of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, states: "Death down to new low." The article states that fatalities are now 36 per cent below the 1981/85 baseline average. Serious injuries are also 40 per cent below, and the Road Safety Minister, Baroness Hayman, welcomed the figures.By comparison, death and injury on our roads continue to rise, and the Minister for the Environment has on more than one occasion expressed alarm at our statistics. In spite of recent attempts by our Government to bring sanity into the behaviour of the motoring public, there are far too many drivers who hold the law in contempt.We are now reaping the frightful results of neglect and underfunding by successive Government over a period of many years. May I suggest that the most urgent need we now have is the creation of a new ministry, and the appointment of a Minister for Road Safety.Such a Minister could then focus his/her attention and energies on the vital matter of safety on our roads. Hopefully, a downward trend in the daily chapter of collisions, deaths, and injuries will follow. - Yours, etc.,Douglas McCowen,Templeville Road,Dublin 6W.