A man whose wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident involving a teenage driver earlier this month is demanding a comprehensive response from the Garda to such cases in the interests of saving lives.
Gardai have confirmed that a file on the incident has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The woman killed in the incident, Mrs Dolores Rea (52), is survived by her husband, Paddy, daughter Lisa, and sons David, Kenneth and Wesley.
Mr Rea last night praised the professionalism of the gardai who had broken the news to him of his wife's death on December 2nd. However, he was angered by the failure of the authorities to stamp out the carnage on Irish roads.
He said his wife's death in Tallaght was one of several similar road accidents that week which had had lethal consequences for the victims, all of them women.
"Why can't we learn from the Germans? They have an extremely well-operated and efficient system to prevent improperly-registered, uninsured or untaxed cars from being on the road. Why can't the Irish Government take it upon themselves to implement a similar system for Ireland?
"There was harmonisation across Europe on such issues as the degree of `curve' allowed in a cucumber and optimal banana sizes, but when it came to something as fundamental as stopping road carnage it was woefully inadequate."
He said all that was required was for insurance companies to notify the vehicle registration authorities whenever a motor policy was cancelled. "This could be followed by a report to the Garda, who would then issue a ticket that carried a stiff fine and immediately impound the car until it is reinsured and the fine paid."
The same action could be repeated for failure to pay road tax, with regard to registration and the driver's licence. "Spot road checks should be made to ensure that unregistered or improperly-registered cars and unlicensed drivers with only an L licence are properly supervised." This would have the added benefit of removing a large number of cars from the road, thus reducing the volume of traffic.
He said such procedures might impose hardship in some cases, but that was nothing compared to the number of lives which could be saved from keeping these cars and their drivers off the road.
Mr Rea recalled that at first he thought it was one of his sons who had been involved in a traffic accident when the motorcycle garda arrived at his house with the news. The accident occurred just weeks before their eldest son, David, who recently qualified as a surgeon, was due to be married.