Ireland has good road safety laws but a "pathetic" record in enforcing them, the public affairs manager of AA Roadwatch said yesterday. Mr Conor Faughnan said new laws likely to be introduced included a penalty points system similar to that in Britain, which has the best road safety record in the EU.
But he said there was little point in talking about new laws to reduce the carnage on the roads unless they were enforced. The same was true of the existing legislation. He had never heard, for example, of a driver on a first provisional licence being prosecuted for driving unaccompanied by a full licence-holder, as was required by law.
Ireland's road safety laws compared favourably with those of other EU countries, he added. "When we compare the Irish statutes to those in Norway, Britain, Germany or elsewhere, ours read perfectly well. They read like those of a country that takes road safety seriously, but our enforcement record is pathetic."
He stressed the problem was a societal one and he was not blaming the Garda Siochana. "The gardai will enforce the powers which society wants them to. It's the attitude of society towards the problem which has to change."
Mr Faughnan said much of the road safety strategy due to be implemented in the State was modelled on the UK's, not because of its close proximity and similar legal system, but because its record was "the best in Europe bar none".
Its system could be modified to suit Irish needs, he added. "We could bring in penalties for not wearing seat-belts because we have a big problem in that regard, which they don't have in the UK."
"We expect a similar system will be brought in here as soon as is practicable. There is also provision for random breath-testing in the UK, and the Garda Commissioner has said he would favour that here."
The authorities in Ireland also looked closely at the Australian state of Victoria which has halved its annual road death toll since the late 1980s.
With a population slightly bigger than the Republic and a police force of similar size, Victoria had had until 1989 a "road safety record bad enough to make ours look good".
The measures which achieved a "remarkable turnaround" included on-the-spot blood alcohol tests and the introduction of technology which allowed tickets to be issued quickly and cheaply for drivers caught by automated speed cameras.
Mr Faughnan said measures elsewhere in Europe included more intensive driving tests. In Germany the test includes autobahn and night driving, while in Sweden a passenger in a car being driven by someone with excess alcohol could also lose their licence. The Czech Republic had a zero alcohol limit, while other countries, especially in Scandinavia, had limits well below those in Ireland and Britain.
But for Ireland the most relevant comparison was Britain, where there were 6.4 road deaths per 100,000 population in 1995 - the most recent year for which EU-wide figures are available - compared to 11.6 in Ireland.
