The Garda is being called on to target motorists who display permanent 'For Sale' signs on their cars as a means of organising illegal races on public roads. Michelle McDonagh reports.
Galway East TD Joe Callanan claims to have been informed by Garda and road safety sources that in many instances, these cars are not genuinely for sale, but are being used to display contact numbers so that racers can arrange illegal races.
Deputy Callanan is not claiming that every modified car displaying a 'For Sale' sign is involved in this practice, but that those who permanently display such signs are the culprits and are often known to the gardaí.
He has also called on the gardaí to examine the practice of parking cars with 'For Sale' signs on the side of the road in areas where they can impact on visibility.
"If anyone wanted to erect a sign or a notice on any of these sites, they would have to apply for planning permission. It is remarkable that certain parts of the road are almost a permanent outdoor car showroom," said Callanan.
With such a wide range of car advertising outlets on the market, he questioned the need for this form of advertising to exist at all.
Deputy Callanan highlighted the fact that illegal racing was a problem in parts of Co Galway where there were long, straight stretches of road that were not very busy late at night.
Gardaí in Tuam launched a crackdown on modified car owners over the last year when illegal racing became a problem on the busy N17 at off-peak times.
A Tuam garda explained: "We had a bit of a problem with modified cars and 'boy racers', but we had a number of prosecutions before the court over a period and the problem has eased off."
The prosecutions related mainly to defective vehicles as many modifications are not carried out to the standard specifications, including larger wheels and louder exhausts.
The gardaí added that they had not received any complaints about illegal races being organised through 'For Sale' signs in the Tuam area.
A spokesman for the National Safety Council said that while he had no definite evidence of this practice, he had heard about it anecdotally: "I have heard about guys 'throwing down the gauntlet' to other drivers by putting 'For Sale' signs in their cars with phone numbers which other drivers can phone to organise races."
The NSC spokesman said he had also been made aware that certain young males in high powered cars were using a system of signalling to set up races - they flash their lights at drivers approaching in the opposite direction when they are looking for competitors to race on public roads.
"Obviously, the garda are aware that this is going on. As far as enforcing and detecting these guys, the gardaí are at an advantage because they stick out like sore thumbs and are easy to identify. The garda know who they are in their local communities," he stated.