Madam, - As a New Zealander living in Ireland, I am not surprised by the high road-death figures - because I've seen so much poor driving.
One of the most fundamental problems is a lack of common courtesy. When a slow driver is holding up other vehicles, the decent thing is to indicate and pull in at a place where others can pass safely. But too often the opposite happens - the driver of the slow vehicle doggedly blocks the road and ignores all opportunities to move aside.
This leads to frustration among those behind and encourages them to take dangerous risks to overtake.
Other common errors are following too closely, using mobile phones while driving and, of course, speeding. I have seen very little law enforcement and am shocked at the terrible state of the national roads.
Good infrastructure and common courtesy among citizens are just two of the signs of a developed society but, for all of Ireland's recent wealth, infrastructure and mutual respect are alarmingly poor. I suspect the driving defects reflect a deeper problem in the national psyche, which I call post-colonial hangover syndrome. Symptoms include an attitude of "no one tells me what to do" at one extreme, and a hopeless feeling of "no one is listening to me anyway" at the other. Both lead to determination that "I'll do whatever I want when I want", which serves nobody well. - Yours, etc.,
LAUREN WILLIAMS, Barra an t'Sean Baile, Dingle, Co Kerry.