Sir, - The autumn edition of the Automobile Association Journal has a startling message for us. In this country a person is almost twice as likely to be killed on the roads as is someone living in England.
The summer edition of the Irish Heart Foundation magazine - commenting on the scarcity of organs for kidney transplants in the UK - says: "The reason the supply demand gap is widening is the donor shortage - because Britain has the lowest traffic death-rate in Europe - thanks largely to seat-belt legislation, and probably more recently widespread use of speed cameras."
The point system of penalties for dangerous driving in this country has yet to be enforced. A driver coming from outside this jurisdiction cannot be blamed for possibly thinking that we care little how one drives here.
Why are large advertising billboards permitted to distract one's attention, often at dangerous corners? Why are trucks and articulated lorries not encouraged to travel outside peak time, with more emphasis laid on transporting goods by rail?
Speed kills; but the slow driver who hogs the centre of the road for mile after mile may be responsible for an accident if someone driving behind eventually loses his or her patience.
On the last holiday weekend, mindful of cautionary warnings on television, I was determined to stay within the speed limit throughout a journey to Dublin. I was passed by every vehicle coming behind, many 14 or 15 years old!
It makes little or no sense to have many of the Garda speed checks on relatively safe, wide-open motorways, rather than at the dangerous narrow bends. We all have had the very frightening experience of a car coming from behind at speed, overtaking, and then having to brake and pull in front of you, when the driver realises that he/she cannot make it.
Use of speed cameras, clearly marked as such, should be in widespread use, and at every dangerous bend. Advances in recent technology have ensured that the cost of the film would not be prohibitive. These should prove a very effective deterrent. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Patrick J. Henry, Rosses Point, Sligo.