John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

Absolutely. I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak on the issue of road safety. Several discussions on it have taken place in the six years I have been a Member of this House and I wonder whether the words we utter here have much impact. I commend the work of those in the Road Safety Authority and the gardaí who police the roads to try to reduce the awful number of accidents, deaths and injuries that occur on our roads daily.

We are discussing this issue in the immediate aftermath of the cock-up by the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, with his proposed reform of the licensing system. I am sure many Members would have received many communications from their constituents on the proposed changes the Minister intended to introduce to crack down on people driving on a second provisional licence. It is not the case that people do not agree with the proposal but there are still significantly long waiting lists for driving tests throughout the country.

I am glad the Minister backtracked and decided to allow a lead-in time for the changes to come into effect. I live in a rural area and many people from rural areas who have to be in work at 8 a.m. have no possibility of being accompanied by a qualified driver. They only way they can get to work is by driving because a public transport service does not exist in most parts of rural Ireland. The initial proposal by the Minister with such a short lead-in time was exposed for the faults it clearly had.

Significant changes need to be made in the driving test system. The backlog of people waiting for driving tests needs to be addressed and I hope significant reductions will occur in the waiting times for driving tests in the next few months.

I have raised the format of the driving test on a number of occasions in the House. I do not know when the last significant changes were made to it but it strikes me that many tasks in the driving test are irrelevant to the dangers motorists face on the roads. The most dangerous task a motorist will do is to overtake another vehicle, but that task is not part of the driving test. Despite this, part of the driving test involves reversing around the kerb of a junction which, as far I know, is illegal. Parts of the driving test are outdated. It does not include the most dangerous aspects of driving. If we are serious about reform of the licensing system, we should fundamentally reform the nature of the test.

I have also spoken in the past of the need to examine the provision of facilities and places for people to learn how to drive. If one lives in a rural area, as I do, one can learn to drive on country roads on which there is little traffic. However, if one lives in a town or other urban area, the first time one sits behind the wheel of a car, one will drive on the public road and even though one is accompanied by an experienced qualified driver, driving on such a busy road is hardly suitable. Local authorities and Government agencies have large landbanks and I have asked before for the provision of facilities where people can get their first few lessons to ensure they do not have to drive straight out on the highway given the danger that presents.

Previous speakers mentioned the difficulties regarding the speed limits that apply on some roads. The speed limits on some roads are ridiculous. I can travel to Dublin on the N7 or the N11. I travelled on the N11 yesterday. It is a fabulous new road for most of the way but a 60 km/h speed limit applies to a significant stretch of it around the Glen of the Downs and Kilmacanogue and yet an 80 km/h speed limit applies to a twisty and windy stretch of the road closer to Wexford that has only two lanes, one in each direction.

A proposal was presented a number of years ago that a concerted effort would be made by local authorities to streamline the speed limits in operation but that does not seem to have worked. I agree with Senator MacSharry that we seem to police most heavily our best roads. I note that the Garda always appears to police a new section of road built between Enniscorthy and New Ross, which is a fine stretch of road. However, I never seen the Garda policing a poor stretch of road between Clonroche and New Ross. I do not understand the reasoning behind those decisions. If motorists want to avoid detection, they can drive at whatever speed they like on the twistiest, windiest and narrowest stretches of national road but they must stick to the speed limit on the best stretches of national road. That does not make sense.

The penalty points system introduced four years ago has been successful. I supported it then and I support it now, although I have been given a couple of penalty points. I learned my lesson when I got them and they have disappeared from my licence by now, I suppose.

At the time the then Senator Brian Hayes made the valuable point, which has not been acted upon, that at certain peak times, especially bank holiday weekends which tend to be black spots, the possibility of doubling penalty points should be examined. It is done in many other countries, as I know having spent some time in Australia where it is done on bank holiday weekends when more accidents tend to occur. Similarly, in Ireland most accidents occur at such times. We should look at the possibility of doubling penalty points so that instead of getting two for speeding, the offender will get four and so on. That has not yet been done. Perhaps it is being looked at, and it should be.

I disagree with Senator Pearse Doherty about a zero blood alcohol limit as I do not believe it would work. If one goes to Mass on a Sunday and takes altar wine, one might find oneself over the limit. It is not practicable. To be perfectly honest, I do not see the need to reduce the alcohol limit from 80 mg per 100 ml of blood to 50 mg. Senator MacSharry is right in saying that what is needed is enforcement. We have enough laws, whether they concern justice, transport or road safety. We just need to implement them and there is not enough of that. I do not see that there is a significant need in rural areas in particular, where there is no public transport system, to reduce the blood alcohol level. I do not believe it would serve a purpose. If we were to implement what we have, that would be better rather than trying to reduce the current levels.

Previous speakers have touched on drug driving. Something needs to done in that regard and testing should be introduced.

My last point concerns young people. I still regard myself as a young person. There is a danger in all this discussion that we will demonise every young fellow who has a car. I am delighted to see any able young person providing himself or herself with a car and spending some money on doing it up. They could be spending their money on much worse. Young people are not the cause of the majority of road deaths. There is a significant problem but we should try to work them with rather than demonising them. Initiatives such as those that took place in Donegal should be welcomed and encouraged throughout the country.