Sir, – I applaud the good sense of the Department of Transport in refusing additional funding for awareness campaigns for road safety (“RSA denied extra funding to counter road deaths”(News, January 30th).
Current awareness campaigns are more than sufficient.
The biggest deterrent to disobedience on the road is getting caught.
Garda presence on the road has not kept up with the increasing volume of traffic.
Judicious use of current resources would also help – placing detection units on motorways and urban dual-carriageways when the majority of accidents are on minor roads is wasteful. It should be mandatory for cyclists to wear high-visibility jackets, as should pedestrians walking on unlit country roads.
It’s a long time since I have been stopped by a Garda patrol and I suggest this is the area where additional resources need to be directed if progress is to be made in reducing carnage on the road.
Additional bodies in offices is not the answer. – Yours, etc,
NIALL L PELLY, Snr
Dublin 18.