Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

It is regrettable that this debate is taking place against a background of exceptionally tragic accidents involving school buses. I convey my condolences and sympathy to all the families, extended families and communities that were touched so traumatically by the unfortunate accidents in Meath and Offaly.

As with every road accident, those accidents had their root causes in human failings, shortcomings or errors. I hasten to add that such causal factors do not pertain to drivers alone. Those responsible for poor quality roads are frequently the culprits in terms of responsibility for road accidents. It is unacceptable that county councils should erect an accident blackspot sign on a road and consider that an adequate discharge of their responsibility. I would go so far as to say it is irresponsible.

There should be a statutory requirement for an independent engineering report on every serious accident scene and the local authority responsible should be obligated, immediately and above all prior budgetary plans, to make safe structural or design deficient roads. There should be no tolerance of hazardous roads just as we have no tolerance of hazardous buildings or environmental hazards.

Of the two school bus tragedies I have mentioned, there seems to be prima facie evidence from all I have read that the roads at both scenes were not up to acceptable standards of safety. This is a major issue and one which has been relegated to insignificance and obscurity by the constant attribution of all road accidents to speeding and lack of enforcement.

Surely school buses do not offend in respect of speeding. This merely serves to underline that there are other significant causes of road deaths apart from those so persistently reinforced in the public perception. I venture humbly to suggest that the local authorities should be made stringently responsible for the removal of bad bends immediately, the correction of improper cambers, the removal of vertical upright edges on traffic calming islands and chicanes and their replacement with sloping high visibility edgings. I can develop at length on any of these aspects. We must also address the cultural factors that skulk in the casual undergrowth of road accidents. These are the prevailing attitudes of drivers, their norms of behaviour, norms of belief and their general disposition towards compliance and law enforcement.

As a country, we need a collaborative approach to road safety, one to which everyone can subscribe. This will not be achieved while there is an adversarial attitude towards the driver. If the Garda want public approval for enforcement, and we want it to have that approval, it must stop skulking behind walls and hedges to plunder money from the motorist. The Garda does not mount speed traps on minor roads because such roads, from one perspective, will not yield the revenue. Current policy in this regard is misguided and is not yielding the desired results.

What Gay Byrne is tasked to do is to change our prevailing cultural attitude to driving and safety. That means looking at basics such as maintaining a vigilant inspection regime in respect of public service vehicles, especially school buses. The Minister of State has convinced me that is well in train and being comprehensively looked at from her Department's point of view. Let us demand that the revenue be front-loaded and available to her to ensure this aspect is fully implemented. It also means enforcement that is pertinent, relevant and balanced. It is not shooting fish in a barrel.

Like all road accidents, school bus accidents occur because of institutionalised attitudes and practices. Their emotional impact jolts us out of the complacency and comfort with which we accept institutionalised norms. It is sad that it has taken the loss of young lives, full of promise and potential, to challenge us to look at ourselves. We are great at blaming others, such as young speedsters and drunken drivers — always somebody else.

I would like to see a more rigorous analysis of road accident data. I would also like to know how many road accidents are caused by the road hog who insists on travelling in the middle of the road at a slow speed building up the frustration of all behind him until someone in blind rage risks dangerously overtaking and causes an accident. We need to acknowledge these factors and to punish such selfish drivers just as we punish drivers whose speed and recklessness imperils the safety of other road users. Anyone who is not driving at the speed limit should by law have to move over or pull over to let other traffic pass.