Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the past decade, we have seen more cars on the roads and more younger drivers. In addition, those younger drivers are driving more powerful cars because it is no longer possible to insure older cars. This is an issue the Government should examine. Years ago, parents could buy their children a banger in which they could not go over 30 km/h or 40 km/h. Now they can get into a modern car and drive it at 80 km/h, 90 km/h or 100 km/h, no problem.

In 2004, I wrote to the then Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, asking him why there was not a national initiative to require motorists to have their lights on at all times when driving, as is the case in Finland and other Baltic countries. This is a simple measure that has been proven to help road safety. Beyond that, we do not do enough within the driver testing system to teach young drivers about road conditions. They do a test that is a desk-top exercise and then, after so many hours of driving lessons, they have to drive around an urban centre. After that, they are let out to drive. I am a father of three children. I am always afraid when their pals pull up and they hop into the car. There is no monitoring of the car or the motorist's driving. We just have to trust the driver. I am aware of a very good insurance initiative whereby parents could put a speed monitoring device on their children's cars in return for a significant discount. That is something the Government should pursue.

There may be something sinister going on in regard to single-vehicle accidents and the non-wearing of seat belts. It is an issue that must be looked at in the statistics. We should be able to see where that is occurring. We need to consider whether we can do anything to reach out to people who might take that option.

A Garda presence on the roads is absolutely vital. Putting a greater number of gardaí on the roads will have the single biggest impact on speeding and all the other detections required. At the same time, gardaí need to exercise discretion when they pull motorists up by the roadside. It is not necessary to give people a two- or three-point summons and a fine on every occasion.

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