Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak on this significant Bill. I compliment my colleague, Deputy Olivia Mitchell, on introducing this Bill and on her unwavering commitment to road safety.

The horrendous road accident statistics here have reached such levels that we are willing to try any mechanism to reduce the carnage on our roads and the heartache and trauma that it brings in its wake. Watching the news on television every evening, particularly at weekends, I am profoundly shocked by the huge loss of life that occurs on our roads. Recently in my constituency a horrific accident resulted in the loss of two school-going first-year students returning from study from Killenaule to their home along a stretch of road that is known to be very dangerous.

Clearly, we are failing to address the root causes of road accidents if casualties continue to mount. That the number of fatalities has climbed each year is evidence of a great failure on the part of the Government to tackle this problem. More than 5,000 people have died on our roads during the past decade and already this year 90 people have lost their lives on our roads. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to address a complex issue such as road deaths. The first issue that needs to be addressed is the number of gardaí dedicated to traffic duties. The Garda traffic corps must be allocated its full complement of staff immediately.

Anyone will comment on the likelihood of being caught for driving slightly over the speed limit in the 50 or 60 kph zone while virtually having a free reign on an open road. One can argue that if a law exists, people should uphold it but that it not human nature. People need incentives to uphold the law. They need to know that if they drink and drive, break the speed limit or commit another such offence they will not get away with it. I commend Mr. Gay Byrne on his attitude this morning when he said in the case of people caught driving a few kilometres over the speed limit, good policing should prevail and they should be given a warning rather being penalised.

While driving up to Dublin today I was struck by the farcical state of the Dublin to Cork road, with dual carriageways in some places and single lanes in others where the speed limit is routinely broken. On approaching Dublin, traffic grinds to a halt in roads works and then because of the never-ending rush hour. It is no wonder people are tempted to break the speed limit when they reach a stretch of good road. The frustrations they encounter in traffic that barely moves makes speeding very tempting when the opportunity arises. For this reason speed cameras must be located at frequent intervals and people must be aware of their existence. The purpose of speed cameras must not be to catch people out and extract a fine from them but to encourage them to drive within the legal limit. That is most important. Speed cameras are needed on major roads and in rural areas. There are many roads where the speed limit is not observed. Narrow rural roads, where straight stretches are few and far between, become incredibly dangerous when motorists drive vehicles at speed.

It is high time a programme was introduced to teach transition year students about driving. I have raised this issue on several occasions. I implore the Minister, Deputy Cullen, who is forward-thinking, to encourage the inclusion of such a course as part of our education system.

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