Deaths on Irish roads remained "shamefully high", the National Safety Council (NSC) warned yesterday at the publication of its annual report reviewing 1998.
Any delay in implementing the Government's five-year strategy to reduce fatalities and injuries by 20 per cent by 2002 threatened a return to the fatality rate which devastated Irish communities in the 1970s, according to NSC chairman Mr Cartan Finegan.
The 1998 figures - there were 461 fatalities, down 2 per cent on 1997 - show "the spiralling fatality rate of the previous three years was stemmed. However, the figure remains well in excess of the levels of the early 1990s," said NSC chief executive Mr Pat Costello.
The report highlights the increased investment in enforcement of speed limits and other regulations when set against "wholly inexperienced, untested motorists". There are some 400,000 learner drivers in the State, 30 per cent of whom do not have a valid driving licence.
Mr Finegan said: "At this stage, we should be introducing more comprehensive driver testing procedures, not struggling to remedy a chronic backlog in applications."
He said as long as this was allowed to continue, motorists would exploit the learner driver as the scapegoat for their own mal-practices. "This is a genuine impediment to improving driving standards."
However, there were some indications of change, notably the Government's "The Road to Safety" strategy with its challenging, tightly defined goals.
"Our road death tally remains unacceptably, indeed, shamefully high - there's no denying this - yet I feel we may look back on 1998 as a landmark year in the struggle against road deaths."
According to estimates, more cars and an increase in young drivers will see fatalities rise by 20 per cent within four years if the status quo continues. Under this scenario, implementation of the strategy would save 170 lives each year.
The huge costs of road deaths and injuries, both social and financial, will be the focus of an NSC report to be published this summer. It will try to persuade the Government of the substantial payback from investing in road safety - 1997 figures suggest Irish road deaths and injuries cost £600 million annually.
While the NSC welcomed the imminent introduction of a written test for learner drivers, it said there was a case for a "hazard perception test".
Mr Finegan welcomed the decision to impose spot fines for safety-related offences as a further step towards a cumulative penalty points system. He said the threat of losing a licence was the most effective deterrent against bad driving.
On other accidents, the report says 45 lives were lost due to fire last year - a 12 per cent decrease on 1997 - while accidental drownings accounted for 51 deaths, though these figures are provisional.
The special traffic committee of Dublin Corporation has approved a £3 million traffic management programme, to be implemented over the next 12 months.
Traffic-calming measures such as new traffic and pedestrian signals, improved road markings and upgrading of traffic control technology are included in the package. It has been made possible by a significant increase in revenue from parking meters and pay and display machines.
