Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill and its provisions. It is a step in the right direction and I compliment the Minister of State and his officials in bringing it forward. I will concentrate on a few issues. Senator Ryan spoke about heavy goods vehicles and Senator Mansergh mentioned having speed limits at realistic levels so that there would be a culture of adherence to them. Unfortunately, heavy goods vehicle restrictions are a good example of unrealistic speed limits being imposed.

Approximately 23 or 24 years ago, when I was president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, we campaigned to have the 50 mph limit increased to 60 mph. I could never understand why it did not happen. As has been mentioned, most heavy goods vehicles will travel at 60 mph, which is approximate to the current 100 km/h speed limit. It is often not realised that heavy goods vehicles cannot get into top gear unless they are travelling at more than 80 km/h. It defies all logic to ask drivers to drive in lower gears, from an environmental point of view and every other point of view. If one considers speed limits in other countries, 100 km/h speed limits on two-way routes is very common for heavy goods vehicles. We should examine the matter.

We have sections of good quality dual carriageway, heading out towards Lucan, for example, or down the N11, with 60 km/h speed limits. There is no logical reason for this. One can travel on these routes without meeting a garda until one enters those sections. If a person observes the speed limit within those sections, for which there is no reason from a practical view, that person will not be caught for speeding. The entire thrust and emphasis of the issue should be considered.

I took interest in the comment made by Senator O'Toole in his advocating different speed limits for wet conditions as opposed to dry conditions, for example. There is some logic in this. If we start doing this, we would have to allow that experienced drivers can clearly drive more safely at a faster speed than inexperienced drivers. Likewise, the capacity of a car, especially the braking capacity, is a significant factor in the speed at which cars can safely travel. If we start factoring in these variables, it would be difficult from a practical point to enforce and implement limits.

I welcome the section dealing with the evaluation and monitoring of driving instruction. That is undoubtedly a key component in bringing new drivers to a level of proficiency which will make them safer and it is in the interest of all drivers. I compliment the Minister on this, as it was overdue.

There are three main points I would like to make. We all know of speeding and drink driving etc., but three factors would dramatically improve road safety. Slow drivers should be focused on.