Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----I consider myself to be a reasonably good driver. I support Senator O'Neill's suggestion that driving instructors visit our second level schools for one hour a week for four or five weeks to explain the rights and wrongs of driving to our students. I ask that the Department of Education and Skills seriously consider that proposal. It was mentioned earlier that 80% of fatal road accidents occur on roads with speed limits of 80 km/h and above. Senator Eamonn Coghlan mentioned that 56% of these accidents involve a single vehicle. Does the Minister have information on the likely cause of such accidents and at what time they occurred? Only three weeks ago, I lost a relative in a serious car accident in County Mayo at 5 o'clock in the morning. Does the Minister have information on what time serious accidents involving only one car are occurring? Is the likely cause over-intoxication, texting while driving or the driver having fallen asleep at the wheel? As stated by other Senators, texting is a terrible distraction and has been the cause of many accidents. Does the Minister have information on the number of road deaths involving single vehicles driven by drivers under 25 years of age? I know of one driver under 25 years of age who crashed into a tree and died. Had that tree not been there, he would have ended up in a field and perhaps would not have been killed. Perhaps the local authorities should be removing trees on dangerous bends, thus lessening the possibility of serious or fatal accidents. Some 13% of occupants of cars killed in the past 12 months were not wearing seat belts, which is hard to believe and a startling number of fatalities. Once I sit into my car a beeping sound, which gets louder over time, alerts me to put on my seat belt.

Like other Senators, I commend Members of the Lower House, in particular Deputies Dooley, McEntee, Lawlor and Deering, on their work on this Bill, and in particular the Minister for taking on board their suggestions and proposals. While I am not sure of the purpose of those suggestions and proposals, the Deputies concerned were obviously, like the Minister, trying to improve safety on our roads, on which they are to be commended. I agree with Senator O'Donovan that the primary concern in terms of road safety is speed. I travel the motorway from Dundalk to Dublin several times per week. I am often overtaken by cars being driven at 120 kph, which is an excessive speed. I acknowledge that most major accidents do not occur on our motorways.

I commend the Minister and his officials on the introduction of this Bill. On penalty points, on 23 December I received two penalty points for driving at a speed of 63 kph while in a 60 kph zone. I did not challenge the offence but simply paid the fine of €80. I know of other people who received penalty points in similar situations. Is there, or should there be, any discretion in the penalty points system? I support the Bill, which no doubt will result in our roads being safer for all to traverse.