Stiffer penalties for speeding, including the loss of a driving licence for repeated offences, are needed to reduce the "national scandal" of road accident fatalities, according to the Irish Insurance Federation.
Mr Michael Kemp, the IIF's chief executive, noted that 259 people had been killed on Irish roads so far this year and predicted that a further 150 would die, with more than 3,000 injured, before the year was out.
He produced figures showing the "frightening" level of fatalities here that had given Ireland the third-highest ratio of road deaths per 100,000 vehicles of the 15 EU member-states. Only Greece and Portugal fare worse.
The Republic's rate of 33 road deaths per 100,000 vehicles stands in marked contrast to just over 13 for Sweden and Britain in 1997, though the IIF conceded that the number of fatalities here had fallen over the past two years.
Nonetheless, Mr Kemp said the Government needed to take immediate action to deal with the large proportion of motorists exceeding speed limits, as revealed by research published recently by the National Roads Authority.
"If drivers cannot be persuaded not to drive at inappropriately high speeds by road safety education and advertising, they must be deterred by stiffer penalties, including the possibility of losing their licences for repeated offences," he said.
Mr Kemp said the current on-the-spot fine for speeding, at £50, was no longer a sufficient deterrent, especially when it cost £65 to have an illegally parked car declamped.
"Where is the logic or justice in that scale of values?" he asked.
The IIF, which represents insurance companies trading in Ireland, wants the Government to make reducing road accidents a social and economic priority, "not just to the EU average, but to be among the safest countries for road-users".
Among the measures it is calling for is the immediate introduction of a driving licence penalty points system for traffic offences, extending the use of cameras by the Garda to catch speeding motorists and an increase in on-the-spot fines.
The IIF also argues that the Garda should also be provided with the technology to automate the processing of on-the-spot fines.
Increased resources were also required to permit a significant increase in their road traffic law enforcement capacity under Operation Lifesaver.
Saying there was no shortage of public funds, the IIF is also calling for improved driver training and testing, statutory registration of all driving instructors and increased funding of the National Safety Council's road safety education programmes.
Mr Kemp noted that the council itself had drawn attention to delays in implementing vital safety measures and, against the background of a "tragic" increase in road accidents over the holiday period, he said it was now time for the Government to take action.
He also recalled that the National Road Safety Strategy 1998-2002 had been put together at the instigation of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. What was needed was a renewed commitment at the highest level of Government to implement this strategy.
