Seanad debates

Tuesday, 23 May 2006

Road Safety Authority Bill 2004: Committee Stage.

 

8:00 pm

Photo of Feargal QuinnFeargal Quinn (Independent)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 8, subsection (1), line 47, after "statistics" to insert "to international standards".

I move this amendment on behalf of Senator Henry who is unable to be here. She has done a lot of work on this amendment, which is worthy of consideration by the Minister of State. The amendment is a simple one which seeks to insert "to international standards" after the word "statistics" in line 47. It sounds too normal to be important and did not seem to me as if it would be very exciting.

When statistics are considered with what are they compared? They are not of interest unless they are compared with other information. They can be compared with previous years, which will show whether we are doing better or worse, but the real comparison is with international standards, which would show how others are doing.

I will take an example, although I accept statistics can be very boring. In the United States, half of all vehicle sales are light trucks, including sports utility vehicles, SUVs. Of what interest to anybody is that, we may ask. To answer, I will bore the House with statistics from the evidence given at the National Highway Traffic Administration. This suggests that half of all new vehicle sales are now light trucks and there are 76 million light trucks in the United States, which constitutes approximately 35% of all registered vehicles.

While that might be of no interest, light trucks are dangerous to passenger cars. There are six passenger car fatalities per driver killed in vans or pick-ups when the two types of vehicle collide. The ratio is even worse for side impacts. There are 26 fatalities among passenger drivers when their cars are hit nearside by a pick-up truck and 16 when hit by an SUV. Roll-overs are a threat to light truck occupants. There are approximately 10,000 fatalities in the United States in roll-over crashes each year. Roll-overs account for 3% of all collisions but 32% of all occupant fatalities. SUVs and pick-ups are three times more likely than passenger cars to roll-over.

This gives an idea of what international standard statistics can mean. We might read statistics for Ireland but not realise what they mean until we have a chance to compare them with other information. For example, further information from the American Academy of Pediatrics was presented to me by Senator Henry. It suggests that despite the greater vehicle weight of SUVs, the risk of injury to children in SUVs is similar to that for children in passenger cars. The potential advantage offered by heavier SUVs seems to be offset by other factors, including an increased tendency to roll over. More details are provided in these statistics, such as the importance of age appropriate child restraints and rear seat positioning.

We would not know of these issues unless we had comparisons with other statistics. The Bill may contain provision for statistics but that is irrelevant unless they are compared with international standards. An interesting statistic from Australia concerns driveway motor vehicle injuries in children. Typically the injury involved a parent or relative reversing a motor vehicle in the home driveway over a toddler or preschool age child in the late afternoon or early evening. Four-wheel drive or light commercial vehicles were involved in 42% of all injuries although they account for just 30% of registered vehicles in New South Wales. It is stated that this suggests a link between a fatal outcome, the age of the child and the size and weight of the vehicle involved.

It is interesting that information on driveway injuries in New South Wales is not collected because they occur on private land. Therefore, this information was collected on a separate basis and included information from New Zealand and the United States.

Until recently we in Ireland did not forensically investigate fatal road collisions — they no longer call them accidents because it is said there is no such thing as an accident. However, the Americans have been carrying out such investigations since the 1950s, so it is possible to make comparisons. Statistics are only of interest when they are compared with statistics based on international standards.

Senator Henry proposed this amendment because she emphatically believes that if we just show statistics without comparing them to international statistics, we will not benefit from them. That is why I urge the Minister of State to accept this simple amendment. It seems unimportant but it is of major importance. It will help to save lives in the future.

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