Sir, - With much sadness I read of yet another tragic road crash, this time in Kinnegad. Despite all the newspaper articles, advertising campaigns and public concern, the number of road deaths in Ireland remains unacceptably high.
Having returned to Boston after living in Ireland for the past three years, the one major difference between the two countries on this issue is simply the extremely high police presence that you find on the roads here. At least once a month my family and I drive from Boston to New Haven, Connecticut, a distance of over 100 miles. On an average trip you will see at least four or five state troopers patrolling this stretch of highway, and this does not include any un-marked police cars that we fail to spot. While in Ireland we regularly made a comparable trip from Dublin to Cork I don't think I saw that many police cars en-route over our entire three-year stay. - Yours, etc.,
Aidan Moran, Marlboro, Massachusetts, USA.