Sir, - I feel compelled to write in response to the tragic road accidents which have claimed so many lives in the last week and to the reaction of the Garda National Traffic Policy Bureau to the unacceptable level of deaths on our roads. Of course drink and speeding contribute considerably to the numbers killed and injured each year. However, there are many other contributing factors which seem to be ignored by gardai in their quest to satisfy the requirement of Garda management for high rates of prosecution for traffic offences, which are then bandied about from time to time to show how effective Garda policy is.
As a motorist who travels almost every Friday evening to Nenagh, Co Tipperary and home again to Dublin on Sunday evening, I would like to recount an average weekend's Garda activity on this route. It is usual to encounter a Garda speed trap at a specific point on the Naas by-pass (the location rarely varies). There are usually no other sightings of Garda activity until the Portlaoise by-pass, where you will usually see a garda crouching on an overhead bridge with a speed gun. (It is interesting to note that our motorways are naturally the safest roads, and while I applaud Garda efforts to keep them this way, I question the proportion of speed traps on our motorways compared with to our more dangerous lesser roads.)
After Portlaoise you may or may not come across another unmarked Garda car parked on the roadside closer to Nenagh itself. This concludes the effort in road safety management on this very busy route. What appears to be totally ignored are the numerous unlit or badly lit commercial and farm vehicles, the cars with children standing up in the rear, the non-use of seat belts front and rear, the use of a motorway by learner drivers travelling at 45 miles an hour.
The list of motoring transgressions which do not involve drink or speeding, which occur under the noses of the Garda, and which undoubtedly contribute to death and injury (even in relatively low-speed accidents) is endless and must be addressed. I would suggest that regular road blocks are set up (day and night) with the intention of not only catching errant motorists, but to educate motorists on the importance of seat-belts, correct lighting and tyres, the importance of not driving while tired, etc. I feel that this type of exercise practised regularly would not only improve people's attitude to safe driving, but would also enhance the reputation of our Garda as a force which is genuinely committed to road safety rather than just to achieving prosecutions for prosecutions' sake.
Finally, our Government must not be let off the hook for the appalling standard of our main roads, with their dangerous hidden dips, potholes and poor quality repairs. It too must share the blame for the high rate of fatalities. - Yours, etc., David Darmody,
Glenmalure Square, Milltown, Dublin 6.