Practically nothing has happened since the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, launched a Road Safety programme nearly two years ago which promised radical new measures to tackle the appalling level of death and injury on our roads. Some speed cameras have been installed - but without the computerised system that would make them an effective deterrent. And the promised legislation on random drunk-driver testing; penalty points for certain motoring offences and the testing of provisional licence holders in the rules of the road have yet to see the light of day. It is a sorry saga of neglect.
And it doesn't stop there. At about the same time, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Mr Molloy, assured the public that six-month waiting periods for driving tests were unacceptable and would be reduced. But, in spite of an increase in the number of driving testers from 66 to 101, the situation has continued to deteriorate. Those seeking a driving test in Dublin can now wait for ten or eleven months before being called to a centre. And the average waiting time in the State for a test is almost seven months. The size of the waiting list has grown from 86,822 in January, 1999, to 91,126 last April. And it is still rising.
Last week, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, announced there would be greater police activity during the coming months, arising out of a failure to reduce the incidence of road deaths over the past three years. He spoke of radically altering the method of policing traffic in Dublin and of introducing change in other regions. It will be a welcome development. The traffic laws are not working. More than a quarter of motorists ignore speed limits on a consistent basis; there is still an unacceptable level of persons driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving is a common occurrence.
A contributing factor has been the near-invisibility of the Garda as an effective traffic police force. In other European countries and in the United States, violators of the traffic code are in constant danger of being detected because of the major financial and human resources devoted to the problem. There has been no such investment here. As a result, we have a death rate from road accidents that is double that of Britain and which places us near the top of the European league table. It is totally unacceptable. The Government must immediately provide the required resources and introduce the necessary legislation.