Penalty points for 31 new road traffic offences will come into effect from Monday, following an Order made by Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen. Dangerous overtaking, failing to obey road signs and driving too close to a vehicle in front are just some of the offences that will attract fixed fines and penalty points. And the Garda Síochána computer system is due to be linked to the Courts Services shortly to ensure that the system becomes fully effective.
It has taken far too long to reach this point. And much of the blame can be laid on the shoulders of a Government that declined to provide the money and the manpower that would have saved lives on our roads. For years, the Department of Justice squabbled with the Departments of Transport and of the Environment over funding, reforms and the provision of an integrated, computerised penalty points system. The Government as a whole failed to prioritise road safety through the introduction of random breath testing, the widespread use of speed cameras and an effective, visible and properly resourced traffic corps.
Gay Byrne has been appointed as chairman of the new Road Safety Authority (RSA) with the task of raising motoring standards and reducing the number of road deaths. The remaining board members are due to be nominated by Mr Cullen. They will face a daunting task because of past political neglect, vested interests and administrative incompetence. They will require the assistance of international experts in road safety, combined with a system of multi-annual funding that will permit quick decision-making and authoritative interventions. Most of all, they will need the support of a group of five Ministers who were recently appointed to oversee road safety policy.
The RSA has been given responsibility for sorting out the mess involving provisional licences and driver testing, one of the Government's greatest failures. That task will not be easy because of trade union opposition to the introduction of outside expertise. But it must be done. The scandal whereby more than 400,000 unqualified people are free to drive on provisional licences is intolerable. And a delay of 12 months for a test is indefensible, particularly where young job seekers are involved and insurance costs are so high.
Mr Byrne has spoken of reducing the number of road deaths by 150 a year. That is an achievable target if random breath testing, intensive policing and a crack-down on speeding through the use of speed cameras is introduced. But change will not happen without the political will to implement unpopular decisions. And necessary legislation is still awaited. Everybody agrees that the level of death and injury on our roads is unacceptable. The time has now come to do something about it. That will involve changing the mindset of a sizeable section of the motoring public who exhibit little regard for their own safety or that of fellow road users.