Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill. As the Minister said, much of it focuses on the human factors, driver licensing, penalty points, tests for intoxication, hit and runs and so on. Ireland is a very small country. The close-knit nature of all our communities leads us to be very concerned about road safety. We have all been touched by tragedy on the roads. I come from a county which has witnessed far too many, predominantly young men, die on the roads. Great strides have been made in recent years and as a society and a State we have faced up to the challenge of road fatalities.

We have collectively made travel far safer for motorists and pedestrians.

I will not labour the statistics mentioned by the Minister regarding road safety for pedestrians and drivers in the EU, and the fact that the number of road deaths had fallen for a number of years before increasing in 2013. Some people have partly blamed the recent increase in the number of road fatalities on budgetary measures, whether that is in terms of the state of some of our roads or that there are fewer gardaí on the roads to police and monitor drivers. The RSA claims that the cuts to Garda numbers and resources led to a sea change in attitudes among motorists, who are no longer afraid of being caught because they know they are less likely to be caught. We all see it in our daily experience with secondary and major routes. As I have seen when driving on the roads and motorways, there is a good deal of dangerous driving. Whether the cuts to some services are emboldening dangerous drivers, it is true that the Garda is in a less favourable position than in previous years to catch offenders and get them off the roads. Indeed, the RSA survey found that 70% of the motoring public believes enforcement has dropped and that there has been a drop in the detection of some of the most dangerous driving offences.

I do not know if the Minister or Members have heard a song that is being played on local radio, "Flash The Lights At Me", which includes the words, "Use the code on the border roads and flash the lights at me". That reflects a mentality on many roads whereby if a motorist sees a speed van, they will flash other drivers to let them know. Often when people are passing these speed cameras or gardaí within the speed limit, that would be the exception rather than the rule in their driving behaviour. One can see the speed van and people will let one know it is there some distance in advance, so it is worrying. That could partly be the reason that fewer people have been caught drink driving, driving dangerously, not wearing a seatbelt or using their mobile telephone while driving.

The Garda needs resources to help it stop these road deaths and the gardaí must be more visible on the roads. I realise they cannot be everywhere, but there has been a reduction in visibility and preventable accidents are happening more often. However, I commend the Garda traffic corps. It is doing a good job and it was critical in implementing a positive road safety policy, but it needs the resources to hold the line in that regard.

Those who endanger the lives of others, be it through speed, drink driving or driving under the influence of drugs, overtaking dangerously, tailgating and so forth, should face stiffer penalties. Other Members have mentioned mobile telephones. While over the years people have been talking on their mobile telephones while driving, texting on mobile telephones has become far more dangerous. It definitely must be stopped. There must be more vigilance. One can hold a telephone to one's ear and drive, even though it is not right, but if one is texting, one is looking down at the telephone, particularly nowadays when most people have smart telephones with swipe screens. They do not have the buttons one can physically feel and, perhaps, root around for the right one. That is something that should be dealt with, particularly among the younger, tech savvy generation. To be doing that while driving and possibly speeding at the same time is irresponsible and shows a blatant disrespect for human life. Nobody should be allowed to behave in such a callous and irresponsible manner.

Finally, I seek the Minister's opinion on an issue and ask him to address it. This could be an urban legend but many people have said that there is essentially no effective speed monitoring by the Garda on certain motorways, as an encouragement to people to use the motorways and pay the tolls. What procedures are in place by the Garda to monitor speeds on motorways? I could be driving on the motorway and see somebody travelling at 170 kph or 180 kph, with no regard for anybody else. In all my driving on the M3, and I do a great deal of driving as I mainly commute to the city, I think I have seen a Garda speed check once on the road. If the Minister would address that, even here in the House, it would be beneficial.