Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

There has been a significant improvement in the behaviour of drivers since the introduction of the penalty points system. Another problem has developed, however, because drivers have kept within the speed limits, generally speaking, since the inauguration of the system. Lines of traffic often build up on national routes because drivers hug the centre line of the road while driving at 40 mph, leading to long delays and frustration among other drivers. I have discussed the matter with gardaí, who have expressed similar concerns. If the drivers immediately behind the driver who is travelling at 40 mph decide not to overtake, drivers up to six cars back may decide to initiate an overtaking manoeuvre when it is not safe to do so. Not only can accidents happen when such manoeuvres are risked, but they can also take place subsequently when drivers try to make up the time they lost when they were caught in the line of traffic. One can ignore this problem by saying that drivers should travel at 40 mph on national roads.

Another consequence of the phenomenon to which I refer was highlighted when I travelled a couple of hundred miles, from Northern Ireland to my home in the south east, approximately ten days ago. I worked out when I had completed the journey that I had travelled at an average speed of 35 mph. The trip of almost 200 miles took me five hours. Those of us who are interested in Ireland's competitiveness should consider that a similar journey could probably be done in two and a half hours in most of the countries with which we compete.

It might not be a popular idea, but I wonder if a regulation should be imposed in this regard. Many gardaí who are involved in the regulation of traffic have agreed with me that this matter warrants attention. The main reason for introducing such provisions is road safety. We should recognise that long lines of traffic can lead to frustration, risk-taking and, subsequently, speeding. I assume that slow average speeds on national roads add a substantial latent cost to the economy. The price of almost everything we purchase is affected by transport costs, which I assume are increasing because of this problem.

I have tried to think about what can be done in this regard, rather than simply raising the problem. If a driver is travelling at 30 mph or 40 mph — one will have to choose a speed — on a national primary or secondary route and there is a build-up of more than three, four or five vehicles behind his or her car, there should be an onus on him or her to pull in at the first opportunity to let the traffic pass. Where there is a build-up of three, four or five vehicles behind a driver, there is an onus on that driver, although he or she is quite entitled to drive at 40 mph, to pull in at the first opportunity to let the traffic pass.

In the past year or two, the NRA has adopted a road safety policy of drawing continuous single and double white lines where there used to be broken white lines that allowed one to pass. This has obviously accentuated the problem. We have hard shoulders on many of our national routes that are not used at all and they should comprise part of the solution. This begs another question concerning the NRA, bearing in mind that we have four-lane carriageways with only two lanes in use and a double line in the centre preventing motorists from passing. The Department should determine whether there is a solution to this problem to ensure that traffic can drive at 60 mph on roads subject to 60 mph speed limits rather than being forced to drive at 40 mph because of bad drivers who are taking up positions at the front and causing significant problems as a consequence. The Department's solution may not be the same as mine but it may be similar.