‘Bravado’ major cause of rising roads deaths, says Catholic bishop

A major factor in the rising number of deaths on our roads is over-confidence among young men, “more traditionally referred to as ‘bravado’”, a Catholic bishop has said.

Pointing to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe noted how men aged 18 to 24 had the highest collision rate among adults, while women aged 55 to 64 had the lowest collision rate.

While many factors contributed to deaths on our roads, “speed, carelessness, poor conditions, inexperience, alcohol/drug consumption, driver-distraction and fatigue – a main factor is over-confidence, more traditionally referred to as ‘bravado’, and this finding is reflected by evidential research”, he said.

“It is the dream of many young people to pass their driving test and gain the freedom of lawfully driving on our road network. In recent times, this dream has been thwarted and replaced with the feeling of impatience amongst young people due to the length of time it can take to be allocated a slot to undergo a driving test,” he said.

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But “the driving test is merely an entry point and it does not guarantee safety on the road – safety is something one learns through careful practice over time,” he said. “Unquestioningly, success at a theory and practice test is a big moment for every new driver. Young drivers in particular feel they have invested a lot in their driving licence, and while this is true, unfortunately it does not signal the end of learning. Experience is the greatest teacher of all and that will only come in time,” he said.

It was also the case that “one of the defining characteristics of adulthood is to develop the skill to manage impatience. Indeed, patience and courtesy on our roads are essential driver-safety skills”, he said.

It was also the case that older drivers were not exempt from “bad driving habits, which tend to become ingrained with the passage of years”, he said. The core of all good driving habits was “personal responsibility. It is about you and me, as individual drivers and our standard of road safety that we practise”, he said.

To help avoid the loss of life on our roads, as well as supporting “the victims and the bereaved”, people “can also check our own driving behaviour on a daily basis”, he said.

He said that “people often ask me about prayers to say before embarking on a journey”, but “equally as important is our behaviour when we are driving a vehicle, or using a road in any capacity. When we practise attentiveness and vigilance at all times, we show respect for God and all of humanity. Exercising vigilance and attentiveness is a practical form of prayer.”