Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I compliment the Minister on trying to ensure we have better and safer roads. I spoke to a young man last Saturday who was making a film on road safety. He said he was of a particular frame of mind when he started making his documentary but his preconceptions changed the more he heard from different sources and the more he read. It was interesting that he was using his spare time to put together his thoughts and those of others from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Last summer in Donegal North-East, there were 12 deaths from road accidents in 12 weeks. One can look for reports and, in many cases, spend a great deal of money finding out something the average local person would know such as the location of a bad pot hole or that a person was travelling at a certain speed. I know one needs facts to react but much of the time local knowledge could overcome the need to spend vast sums of money drawing up reports on facts which are quite clear to some. There have been many road deaths in Donegal since last summer and I take this opportunity to extend my condolences to the many families who have lost loved ones in road accidents.

The investment in roads does not necessarily result in safer roads. While it results in wider and straighter roads, it ultimately leads to faster roads. By the same token, much investment in roads is needed. Donegal County Council had a tough time when its local improvement scheme, LIS, money was pulled by the former Minister of State, Bobby Molloy, on the basis that it was spending it in a piecemeal way. My problem with some of the county roads money is that it is given to the local authority in a piecemeal way. As a result, funding for dangerous stretches of road is only provided on a yearly basis. While it is not this Minister's responsibility, with joined-up Government, the Department should talk to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to ensure adequate money is provided to a small number of projects. Safety should be the first criterion in determining how money is allocated.

I was surprised to find out relatively recently that breath testing is not mandatory for drivers involved in fatal accidents. Again, this is not the Minister's responsibility but he should talk to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform about the issue because it would make sense to deal with it.

I have spoken previously about the changes to the speed limits. I was not happy with the blanket change to speed limits. The peninsula on which I live does not have any national primary or national secondary roads and the speed limit was reduced to the equivalent of 50 mph. In some cases, it has nearly been the cause of accidents because many of the roads concerned are straight and have hard shoulders. I understand criteria have been agreed to enable speed limits to be increased but many months will have elapsed since the blanket change of speed limits to 60 km/h or 100 km/h. Not having realistic speed limits can be a danger in itself.

I do not believe many road deaths are caused by people driving 40 mph or 35 mph in a 30 mph area. People who live in built-up areas might not agree with me. In my area, I sincerely believe the trouble is caused by people driving far in excess of the speed limit. Gardaí concentrate their activities in the 30 mph areas and take the soft option. Even at the last Garda conference it was admitted by gardaí that the soft option was not the right approach to road safety.

I agree with the need for more instructors. Deputy Naughten seemed to imply that people were putting a sign on their cars and becoming driving instructors. There are many good instructors, although there may be people who are not as qualified as others. However, no one has suffered as a result of competition in an area. If there were more well qualified instructors, their impact would be very positive.

There was talk of a school for drivers. I observed in Spain and other countries where small playgrounds were laid out with potential road hazards. They had roundabouts, lights and hills. One course was a miniature of a road route with the different signs, turns and junctions one encounters. It was a training course for primary schoolchildren cycling bicycles. The children were brought there after school or during the school day and encouraged to cycle their tricycle or bicycle around what was almost an obstacle course. Negotiating it taught them the rules of the road, respect for other road users and what one does when one comes to a roundabout, a set of traffic lights and in other circumstances. Giving such instruction to primary schoolchildren cycling bicycles is a good idea and road safety is primary to it.

Transition year presents an opportunity for students to be taught how to drive in such a controlled area. Many schools have an area of tarmac or a car park that could be used at specified times for driving instruction. In such controlled areas, students could learn about road safety and respect for other road users which they might not hear about if they were driving on their own.

It was strange to hear the point made about what a provisional driver would expect to be tested on in a driving test. For a long time in Donegal there were very few roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and proper road markings. At one stage there was only one set of traffic lights in the county. I recall a time when even though there was a test course in Buncrana, the road markings at many junctions did not concur with the way the provisional driver was expected by the driving tester to drive. In my region when a test is being taken, it is not normal to have to negotiate traffic lights or roundabouts. That may sound strange to people from Dublin but that is the position in many towns in rural areas. Some facility must be provided whereby learner drivers can get experience of negotiating junctions and gain confidence to cope with any junction or roundabout etc. before they get their fulllicence.

I made the point to the person who interviewed me last Saturday, about which he probably was not too pleased, that boys will be boys, girls will be girls, young people will be young people and speed and young people are often mentioned in the same breath. Similar to my suggestion of secondary schools having controlled areas for driving instruction, I wonder if it would be beneficial for young people to be able to drive around stock car or rally car tracks to let off steam in a safe environment. By using such tracks in that way, they would not meet, for example, a car with a family coming around a corner. However, the use of such a track may hinder matters on the basis that if young people get experience of driving fast, they will always want to drive fast. However, they will probably drive at speed anyway.

We have had significant problems with people driving at speed. They may have bought a car for €20 to €50, it having failed the national car test or having been brought in from the North. Do we examine the reality of what people will be and deal with that or do we hope that they will in some way magically change? Many people can be involved in serious accidents and scary experiences, yet they can get into a car a year later and perhaps drive as recklessly as the person who was killed driving the car in which they were a passenger the previous year. Either this or, having recovered from a serious accident, they may drive at the same speed as previously. Has psychological research been carried out on people who have had serious accidents to establish if there is a way of using their experience and gaining an insight into their mindset to try to work out why people do what they do? That is deep and meaningful but I had to contribute that thought.

A person complained to me recently that the road safety advertisements on television are scary. Some parents find them extremely upsetting. That person made the point that because these advertisements are shown after the watershed, many of the young people who need to see them are out gallivanting in their cars. We should review the time these advertisements are broadcast, although I yield to other people's advice on that.

I am strongly concerned about the road safety of cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. I raised the issue of cyclists' road safety previously. Bicycles should be manufactured with a light attached to them. I raised this issue with Deputy Tom Kitt when he was Minister with responsibility for labour affairs. At global level there needs to be an awareness of the need for bicycles to be manufactured with lights attached. One would not have to walk too far from this building at night and wait terribly long before one would count half a dozen people having cycled past without lights on their bicycles. It is scary for a motorist if a cyclist suddenly swerves in front of him or her at night without a light on his or her bicycle. Pedestrians are also often not aware that sometimes they cannot be seen and I would be as guilty of that as anybody else. People need to think about their visibility to others on the road. In that respect, they should have courtesy for each other and respect for themselves.

Similarly, I am strongly of the view that in regard to the mirror issue for lorry drivers raised in the recent past, a moral imperative must be placed on drivers to address that visibility issue. It was reported that such a mirror costs approximately €38. If people do not equate the spending of €38 with the saving of a life, where are we going in ensuring road safety? People should not mess around when it comes to what is needed to ensure road safety. If we can define what will help people, they should take that on board.

Regarding the big stick approach in terms of the penalty points system, there are areas where motorists believe they will never incur a penalty point. Enforcing the system throughout the country presents a major challenge. If motorists believe they will never get caught, they will continue to drive at speed. Some young fellows rev their cars outside Garda stations in the hope of being chased. There is the danger that an unsuspecting motorist with his or her family in the car may drive around the corner and meet such young motorists who are on the road for the thrill of the chase.

There is great merit in the carrot approach to road safety. I refer to the flashing warning signs asking if a motorist realise the speed at which he or she is travelling. When one approaches roadworks, a sign may indicate roadworks ahead and that motorists should reduce their speed to 40 mph or lower. Warning signs can be very useful.

In my area I know that gardaí will be on duty at a particular roundabout. Four out of ten times one approaches that roundabout, a garda will be there. Regardless of what speed one is travelling at, whether it is 40 mph or 60 mph, one's foot automatically comes off the accelerator just in case one is over the speed limit. A garda might not be at that roundabout all the time, but one is there four out of ten times one travels that road and, on approaching it, one does not know if a garda will be there. It helps for gardaí to be visible and to let motorists know what they are doing. However, the vast majority of road users are responsible on the road.

There is a need for advanced driving courses to instruct motorists how to drive in dangerous conditions. I would like to know exactly what one should do when the road is frosty or if one meets a motorist travelling on the wrong side of the road. An advanced driving course should be available.

After a certain number of years motorists should be required to take a second driving test to take account of the faults he or she may make and to correct them. A learner driver in the North displays an L plate and on getting a full licence displays an R plate for a year. When travelling home last week, a driver displaying an R plate was in front of me on a motorway in the fast lane. I stayed behind him because I did not want to be on the wrong side of the law in terms of the road safety. However, three other motorists overtook him on the inside lane. That motorist was either within a year of having passed his test and did not learn a great deal from his written test about how a motorist is supposed to drive on a motorway or the motorist was a parent or older sibling of the owner of the car and had forgotten about how one should drive on a motorway. There is the usual example of driving for 20 miles or 30 miles behind a very slow driver and when one reaches the climbing lane that driver decides to remain in the fastest part of the climbing lane, which is not very helpful.

I enjoyed the idea of Dr. Fitzpatrick and the licence for £1. I come across situations to which Deputy Naughten referred, where people need a car to drive their elderly parents around, even though they themselves are not in the first flush of youth. These people may have done their driving test eight or nine times but became nervous when they got in beside a driving inspector. These people may have been driving for 20 years or 30 years and have never been involved in a crash, and they only travel from their house to the church and shop. I know it is not right to say that they should be on the road without a licence, but one wonders how they survived for so long without being involved in an accident, yet they are not able to get the test. I am not sure what the answer is but I thought I should raise the issue.

Ultimately, it is in the interest of each road user to take responsibility for their actions. We can introduce legislation, and legislate from morning until night. We can also complain about the legislation not being enforced but, ultimately, those of us who use the roads — some of us use them a great deal — have a responsibility to respect ourselves and other road users. Until we accept this responsibility, no amount of legislation or enforcement will resolve the issue of so many deaths on the roads. It is easy to blame the matter on the Government or the Garda, but people must realise that while they have a right to be on the road they also have a responsibility to drive carefully.

People going out socialising at night is not the problem it was in the past. People of my age group who socialise at night designate a driver. People are now accepting more responsibility in this regard. I do not know whether there has been any advance in regard to drink driving or people who take drugs and drive. I am chairman of the committee on community affairs which is examining the issue of cocaine use and abuse. The issue of drinking while drugged must be addressed.

I commend the Minister on his efforts. I ask him to encourage the NRA to examine a built-up area in Bridgend and Letterkenny. While there are commercial premises in these areas, the 100 km/h speed limit still applies where it should have been reduced. The speed limit on the good roads in my area is the equivalent of 50 mph while built-up areas in Bridgend and Letterkenny, from one roundabout to the other roundabout, with just commercial developments, have maintained a speed limit at 60 mph on an NRA road. I do not have direct input into this, but the county council has asked the NRA repeatedly to reduce the speed limit on these stretches of road. The Minister might advise the NRA to reconsider the issue of Bridgend and Letterkenny. Whatever about increasing the speed limit on suitable roads — I welcome the 75 mph limit on motorways — the speed limit on narrow roads and in extremely built-up areas should be addressed.

I concur with Deputy Naughten that areas near schools should be highlighted. I commend the initiative on flashing lights. Most schools of which I am aware have flashing lights. The boards of management have been supported in developing this initiative. Very few areas are without that facility. The blanket nature of the previous legislation created some gaps and local authorities should be supported in ensuring these problems are resolved. The problem was that councillors were asking if they increased the speed on a particular road would they be personally liable for any accidents that might occur. I believe the legislation was framed so that this would not be the case.

I wish the Minister well in the passage of the Bill through the House. I hope it will have positive implications for road users and the reduction of road fatalities.

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