Committee calls for black boxes on public transport

Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business: An Oireachtas committee is to call for the introduction of "black box" trip recorders to be fitted to all vehicles involved in public transport.

The Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business, which is to travel to the United States this week to view similar schemes, believes trip recorders could reduce the cost of motor insurance.

The black boxes are used in aircraft where they record details of flights including voice and instrumentation readings. They are frequently relied upon in the aftermath of a crash to provide accurate and detailed information to crash assessors.

The committee said the extension of black boxes to public transport should reduce the insurance premiums paid by transport providers and have a wider impact on road safety.

Chairman Donie Cassidy told The Irish Times that as speed was a critical factor in more than 80 per cent of crashes, a black box recorder would be a potent reminder to drivers that there was an evidential record of their behaviour.

While Mr Cassidy acknowledged fitting black boxes in private cars could give rise "to a civil liberty issue", he said their installation in public transport could have the effect of reducing speeds generally.

The final itinerary for the US was undecided yesterday but Mr Cassidy said it was hoped to view systems in operation in New York, Oregon and Tennessee. Four members of the committee are to travel on the eight-day trip beginning on Sunday, Mr Cassidy and TDs Phil Hogan (FG) Tony Dempsey (FF) and Joe Callanan (FF).

Mr Cassidy said it was a fact that the New York traffic corps had reduced fatalities by 25 per cent and serious injuries by as much as 40 per cent in recent years, through the use of black box systems.

"When penalty points came in in Ireland there was a dramatic drop in road deaths, but after a while, when people felt they wouldn't be caught, the numbers went back up again, the fear has gone out of the law."

Mr Cassidy said the committee's report, which is not due until September, would recommend the introduction of black box technology here.

In the past four years the Oireachtas committee has made a number of recommendations which have been incorporated into law, he said. These include the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, reform of civil liability legislation, a health and safety Bill and penalty points for drivers.

However Mr Cassidy maintained that insurance companies in Ireland were now making profits of about €1 billion a year and he argued that the reforms which had been put in place should have led to greater reductions in premiums than had been experienced.