Young drivers must be persuaded that high-speed, dangerous driving is irresponsible and dangerous both to themselves and to others, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.
Though road fatality numbers are down, Mr Ahern, speaking at Croke Park, said he "never gets any satisfaction seeing figures down. It's the figures eliminated - that is what you'd like to see."
Roads have improved, driving test waiting times have been cut and Garda traffic patrols have been increased, yet driver behaviour has not improved significantly, he said.
He said there is a responsibility to try and "convince and persuade people" not to drive dangerously.
"I've seen myself just a few nights ago young people in a car racing around, a stolen car, just racing around wildly," he said.
The Government has played its role and so has the media, he said, but drivers must realise "that this carnage on the roads is against their interest, that they could be the victim and I think that's all you can really do". The Taoiseach said there would always be accidents on the roads, but some "of the fairly insane acts that we see from time to time" are "inevitably going to lead to carnage".
The Garda Traffic Corps' extra resources are "definitely going to bite on people", he said.
"We all know there will be accidents but it's not I think acceptable that there still are people that are taking to the roads in high-speed vehicles and doing unmerciful speeds.
"I think wherever they can be punished, whether it's the gardaí's action, whether it's the courts' action or whether it's our legal action, all of these things must work together."
He urged motorists on the road over the coming bank holiday weekend to slow down and give themselves extra time for their journeys.
People should also try to "watch out for those who just act irresponsibly and who don't want to listen to any of us, to try to . . . thwart them."
" It's just not a bright idea for anybody for people to hare around the roads at two, three, four and five o'clock in the morning," he said.
