A renewed appeal to motorists to slow down, belt up and not drink and drive was made yesterday by the Garda Commissioner following an "unprecedented" number of road deaths in a single week.
An increase in Garda activity to combat the continuing carnage was also promised by the Commissioner, Mr Patrick Byrne, who said 14 people had died on the roads in seven days, bringing the number killed this year to 48.
Gardai have attributed 20 of those deaths to excessive speed and nine to drink-driving.
The number of people killed to date is five more than in a full two-month period to the end of February last year, but a senior garda said yesterday new measures introduced under Operation Lifesaver last year would bear fruit in the long term.
Chief Supt John O'Brien, head of the Garda traffic policy bureau, said other countries which had introduced successful road safety strategies had had to wait between three and five years for results. "You have to identify the measures required and then stay the course, while being open to new ideas," he said.
But elsewhere there was frustration at the apparent failure of increased Garda surveillance and high-profile public awareness campaigns to lower the number of fatalities.
Mr Gavin Freeman, information officer with the National Safety Council, said: "It is deeply disappointing that people still do not seem to be taking on board the need for sensible driving, for driving at sensible speeds with regard to the road conditions, for driving without any drink and for wearing a seatbelt."
The continuing rise in road deaths has coincided with a rapid increase in the number of vehicles on the Republic's roads. At the end of 1996, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were 1.3 million licensed vehicles, including more than a million cars, an increase of more than 40 per cent in 10 years.
But Chief Supt O'Brien said this could not be used as an excuse for the current crisis' situation. Countries with higher car-ownership levels than Ireland had lower road death rates because of better safety systems, he said.
A detailed road-safety strategy, being drawn up by a committee of interested parties under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, is expected to be completed shortly.
Measures likely to be under consideration include the introduction of a points system, as applies in the UK, that repeat offenders would face disqualification. Drivers here can accumulate unlimited on-the-spot £50 fines for speeding without further sanction.
In the meantime, Operation Lifesaver '98 is to be given immediate effect, according to the Garda. The scheme, originally introduced in the Louth-Meath area last July and extended to the rest of the State in September, essentially involves an increased Garda presence on the roads and a clampdown on speeding and failure to use seatbelts.
At a meeting of chief superintendents last month it was decided to increase the number of checkpoints and patrol-car visibility. Local media are also to be used to increase public awareness.
The Garda will soon take possession of a second mobile detection unit to back up the one currently being used in LouthMeath, Dublin and other areas. New "evidential breath-testing equipment", which will enable gardai to take accurate blood-alcohol readings on the spot, are also to be introduced on a pilot basis.
But Chief Supt O'Brien stressed that if the tide was to be turned drivers and pedestrians most needed to be more responsible and aware. "Most accidents are caused by someone being irresponsible. That's the message we have to get across."
Editorial comment: page 15
