Sir, - C. McCarthy (August 11th) writes articulately about the misplaced emphasis of Garda surveillance insofar as it targets absolute speed as the major killer on major roads, apparently over almost all other road traffic violations. Letters like this serve a vital function in keeping alive the flickering debate as to what must be done to reduce the appalling and disgraceful number of road deaths in this country. Yes, increased garda surveillance, drivers' sense of responsibility, road quality, road signage, etc., are all elements of the solution to the problem. To his credit, your own Kevin Myers is consistently outspoken on this subject and long may he keep up the fight.
But there is an unhealthy silence on another key part of a solution, namely the responsibility of all other road users to become whistleblowers on the roads by reporting incidents of dangerous or inconsiderate driving. Last week, your newspaper quoted the garda traffic branch apparently urging the public to do this specific act. Well and good, but is this a once-off request or are the authorities serious about utilising the immense resource of the public to rightfully report on irresponsible road behaviour?
During a recent visit to a US state, I was struck by the reliance that the police put on incident reporting by the public. For example, drivers there are requested to dial a simple telephone number, 764-HERO, to report car pool lane violators, a class of offenders hardly likely to be described as dangerous. Yet, these exhortations are displayed at approximately one-mile intervals, leaving little opportunity for forgetfulness. Indeed, the selection of the telephone digits to spell the word HERO proclaims loudly the status which these informants have at certain levels of US society.
This raises a very pertinent question about ourselves. Would we regard such whistle blowing as heroic? Or does the idea disturb and strike us as being distasteful? Perhaps it smacks of informing, a practice decried in history as sabotage in our strides toward rebellion and independence. Or is the reporting of others against the authorities unpopular because the institutions were traditionally there to be disobeyed in a roguish sort of way? Or it may be the residual Britishness left over in us, where reporting or ratting on one's colleagues was deeply frowned upon amongst supposedly closely-knit groups.
Well, it's time we all woke up and called ourselves a nation. Our parents, siblings, children and friends are being taken, coldly and violently, from our midst. Historical hang-ups, if that's what they are, need to be jettisoned fast and we have to apply ourselves to assisting the gardai and anyone else empowered to reduce the amount of death on our roads.
Today, every second car seems to carry a mobile phone, so let the law enforcers acknowledge this and actively enlist the help of this already-mobilised resource. We just need to be told who to contact. Road signs with hot-line numbers situated at milestone intervals would be a real indication that the Garda wish to enlist such assistance. So, Garda Commissioner, who are we going to call? - Yours, etc.,
Conor Dooley, Castletroy, Co Limerick.