The Government has failed to meet its target of cutting road deaths by 20 per cent over the past four years, a review of its road safety strategy has confirmed.
The fourth progress report of The Road to Safety strategy showed the number of road deaths fell by 13 per cent since the strategy was launched in 1998.
While last year's slight reduction in deaths, by four to 411, was welcomed, the report said: "Road deaths have remained relatively static over the past three years and the large reductions, which were experienced between 1997 and 1999 (472 v 413), have not been maintained."
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said he was disappointed the primary target had not been met. However, he said, a 13 per cent drop represented "solid progress", which was underlined by a reduction in serious injuries of at least 20 per cent, and perhaps double that, between 1997 and this year.
The report, published yesterday, said provisional Garda figures suggested there was an 18 per cent drop in the number of serious injuries between 2000 and 2001. If accurate, it said, this would translate into a 43 per cent reduction in serious injuries since the launch of the strategy.
"This very significant reduction is testament to the fact that the adoption of a strategic approach involving all of the major bodies involved in road safety offers the best option for the future direction of road safety policy," said Mr Brennan.
Describing the initial targets as very ambitious, he said he was now planning a three-to-five-year strategy which would contain "more meaningful" targets.
The report was unable to conclude whether other targets had been met due to a lack of sufficient research.
Regarding the target to reduce the number of vehicles exceeding the 60 m.p.h. speed limit on national primary routes, the report was able to cite research only from the National Roads Authority (NRA) last year showing speeding had increased by 8 per cent on two-lane national primary roads between 1999 and 2001.
Of the target to implement accident reduction measures at more than 400 national road locations, the report said the NRA had completed 342 such schemes by the end of last year, and would complete a further 58 this year.
The report emphasised the need to continue to tackle drink-driving, noting: "The number of detections remains consistently high and the results of the testing systems reveal that the depth of the problem is not diminishing."
A total of 12,864 drink-driving detections were made last year, an increase of 2,431 on 2000.
The report recommended that "enforcement activities should continue to be intensified in relation to speeding, non-seat belt wearing and driving while intoxicated".
It also called for the implementation of the Road Traffic Act, 2002, as soon as possible, and for media campaigns on speeding, alcohol misuse and vulnerable users to be intensified.
"This will require additional funding, including through sponsorship," it said.
