Sir, - You have published many letters in recent months one road safety and driving standards in this country, and rightly so. However, what is perhaps the most important factor in the case has never been mentioned. I refer to the appalling level of surveillance compared with countries of Western Europe and the UK, most of which I have driven in extensively.
If the Minister for the Environment believes that the motoring public will police themselves, "then he has a lot to learn about the psychology of people when they get behind the wheel of a car or a truck. We all know what the mouse will do when the cat is away. In other words, there is no effective deterrent here.
Mr J. C. Murphy (letters, October 19th) quotes only partial statistics, but the full picture, which may be confirmed by the Gardai and other sources, is that only five per cent of all crashes are genuine and unavoidable accidents; the remaining 95 per cent are the result of human failure. That is the equivalent of two planes of average size falling out of the sky each year, and were that to happen it would cause panic. Yet between 400 and 500 people dying each year on our roads appear to cause little real concern.
We need a special task force of highly trained gardai with powers to collect massive fines on the spot. Notice how drivers suddenly behave themselves when the occasional Garda car is in sight. I suggest that were the fines thus collected to be kept aside by the State, they would probably pay for the upkeep of such a force. The plan would, therefore, be self financing. Would it be too big of a quantum leap for the Minister to consider this?
It is certain that if something drastic is not done quickly, the position will not improve and will probably get worse. - Yours, etc.,
(Member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists),
Templeville Road,
Dublin 6W.
PS. In Spain, if a driver violates the law, a couple of traffic cops may very quickly be on the scene, and the fine will have to be paid in cash. If the cash is not there, the driver may be apprehended and the car impounded.