Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue which unfortunately is not being sufficiently recognised and dealt with.

The quick responses to terrible accidents which we have seen in some areas are not enough. There is a lack of Garda visibility on our roads. It is clear to anyone who travels the road that Garda presence is very hit and miss. We go through periods of great action as we did during the past two or three weeks. Several people have said that to me recently. We also go through long periods of inaction when Garda visibility is very poor.

As far as I know, there is no law with regard to the visibility of pedestrians requiring them to wear a yellow jacket or arm-band for example. I would like the Minister of State to take the issue on board. If there is a law, I would like to see it implemented, and if not, legislation must be introduced. Pedestrians walking on unlit, dark, wet roads primarily place themselves at risk. This is a particular problem in rural areas where at any hour one can come across someone walking in the dark and invisible until the last moment. That is also a risk to the driver of a car and to other road users, as the driver will swerve if he or she sees someone only at the last minute. This needs to be dealt with and would not cost a fortune. It could have a very good outcome if we concentrated on it.

Last year, the Minister for Transport missed an opportunity to do something about speed limits outside schools. The limits should be compulsorily reduced by way of national legislation rather than leaving it to individual local authorities. If there are cases to be made — though I believe they would be very few — outside particular schools for whatever reasons, a local authority might be allowed change the speed limit, but in general the limits should be reduced as a matter of urgency. Many schools have raised this issue with me. Local authorities sometimes do not even review the local speed limits once a year. They have to consult the Garda, give public notice, enter discussion and so on. It is a very slow process, and while it is ongoing children's lives are at risk.

Why has there been a delay in the penalty points enactment, with only four of the 69 areas earmarked for points enacted to date? As gardaí claim that they have difficulties with the system, the fault seems to lie on the other side of the House. Significant cultural changes are needed in this area.

While the absence of statistics on excessive consumption of alcohol by people killed in car accidents means that I must rely on anecdotal evidence to make my points, discussions with young people indicate that drink driving is taboo to the majority of them. However, I would like to know how many of the young people who died over the past few years had alcohol in their systems. Two issues that need to be addressed with regard to young people are speeding and drivers who over-estimate their abilities. A more visible Garda presence will cause people to behave differently out of fear of being caught.

The delay in driver testing hinders the resolution of these problems. Significant delays are experienced at each of the three test centres located in my constituency. Almost 50% of those who take driving tests fail, which means they are not safe drivers. However, we allow them to return to the roads. Immediate reforms are needed to the system, including the regulation of driving instructors and, as was called for by Deputy Gay Mitchell, improvements in the structure of the driving test. Those failing the test need to learn their errors because it is nonsense to send them away without informing them why they failed. I ask the Minister of State to consider these issues.

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