Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an accident is defined as an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought. This is the definition of accident, a word which in today's society is used all too often. It is not a word which applies to many of the so-called accidents in Ireland. How many accidents are not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured? People are dying on the roads due to driver error. Many collisions are caused by speed, careless driving and sometimes fatigue, but as many are aware, a significant number of collisions are caused by the influence of alcohol and drugs.

I concur with the Fine Gael spokesman on transport in welcoming the Minister's initiative announced today, which was pressed for strongly and arduously by an active campaign by the PARC group. I pay tribute to the tenaciousness and determination of the people involved. I mention in particular, Susan Gray, for her campaign on this issue. We must ensure the initiative is implemented sooner rather than later. It is not just drink driving that is causing further fatalities on the roads. People are dying needlessly and each week more and more families bury their loved ones and ask why.

I attended a safety roadshow organised by Donegal County Council which hammered home the message of the effects of road carnage to in excess of 900 students. For 90 minutes students sat awe-struck and terrified as they heard from members of the Garda, the ambulance service and the fire brigade. Accounts of teenagers lying dead on the side of the road were starkly presented to secondary school students. As a former teacher I know how hard it is to keep the attention of teenagers for even ten minutes. Today I saw 900 students silenced for 90 minutes in one of the hardest hitting campaigns I have ever seen. It outlined to me and the rest of the audience the fine line between driving a car and death.

The show culminated in the introduction on stage of a young man in a wheelchair. One of his arms had also been amputated as a result of a road traffic collision. REM's "Everybody Hurts" was the backing track that was played as the young man was pushed on to the stage. At that point, tears were visible on the faces of many students and I realised this was the way to get through to young people and to get the message across that speed kills, maims and destroys.

We must also be aware it is not young people alone who are involved in road carnage. We must show all drivers they are not indestructible or immortal. We must respect the roads. The more comfortable the car, the safer one thinks one is. Some of the driving I witness on roads is an absolute disgrace.

This initiative in Donegal was launched by the mayor of Donegal County Council, John Boyle. I appreciate his work on this initiative. I also commend the road safety team under the leadership of Éamonn Browne. I call for this show to be launched in every county. We must get the message across. Today, for the first time I thought the message was finally hitting home. At the end of the young man's speech he asked everyone to stand up and give a round of applause to the people who had organised the show. After a standing ovation he bluntly told the audience that he had asked them to stand up and applaud because he could neither stand up nor clap and that they should remember they can.

This type of exposure will stop the carnage on our roads, not television advertisements or lectures. Young people do not want to hear lectures. They need to realise for themselves the harm they can cause on the roads. We need to engage with young people in a positive way because currently they feel disenfranchised because of the lack of communication between the authorities and them on their way of life. Otherwise, they may get involved in anti-social behaviour and look for a buzz from driving too fast.

I call on the Government to make this type of show mandatory for young learner drivers with the provision of certificates to show they have attended. Young drivers should not be allowed to get a provisional licence until they have attended such a show. All drivers convicted of a minor motoring offence, such as speeding, should have to re-attend this show. This is the way forward. Anyone who was at the show in Letterkenny today would have seen the shock and discomfort on the faces of 900 students. This afternoon another 900 students attended the show and a third show will take place tomorrow. In total, almost 3,000 young adults who will soon be learning to drive will have attended the show in Donegal.

We need to build on this initiative and ensure the safety of road users by educating drivers from a young age. I call on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, to investigate the possibility of making this type of educational roadshow mandatory, just as the alcohol programme is mandatory in all secondary schools, to bring about a reduction in the death toll from road fatalities.

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