Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not have a speech on road safety statements. Some 23 years ago, on 22 October 2000, nine days after my mother passed away, I was in a really bad two-way collision in which a drunk driver crashed into the back of the van I was in with my uncle and drove us underneath a big 18 ft. bus. I was left in intensive care for five days. I spent nearly two years of my life in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, in St. Joseph's ward and I know exactly how lucky I am to be alive today. It is not a sad story; 23 operations later, I am still here and I am so lucky to be able to tell this story. I know what consequences a collision can have on an individual. I am nearly 34 years of age and still today I suffer chronic pain. I suffer with my back and all the left side of my body. I genuinely support the campaigns for people to slow down and to be cautious on the road. I support any positive action for better road safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and for drivers.Thankfully, I built up the courage. I have to drive because I live in rural Ireland. I did the driving test in Donegal and passed it first time. There was a long wait for it. I now drive from Donegal to Dublin. I do not feel I have a choice because the public transport does not meet my needs, even in Donegal. If I need to take one of my kids to an appointment, I cannot just hop on a bus in rural Ireland. It does not work that way. We really need to invest in our public transport. In fourth year in school, children in rural Ireland should be given classes on safe driving, being safe on the roads so that they have the opportunity to do their theory test in fourth year and support to do that. We need to get people in who have survived car crashes and whatever else may go with that. I know I am so lucky to not be in a wheelchair and I am so lucky that I am able to walk. Listening to other Members speaking on these statements, I recall my mother saying to my brothers years ago that they might get there five minutes or even half an hour late, but they would still get there. It is so important that people abide by the rules.

As Senator Boyhan said, we start with these black spots and where we know where the dangers are. That is where we start to make our roads safe. Some learner and novice drivers are also vulnerable road users. We seem to blame our young people a lot. The drunk driver who crashed into me was over 30 years of age, and the person on the bus was in his early sixties. I do not think young people should be blamed for not being safe on the roads because I do not believe that to be the case, and we need to have supports in place. People need to be supported to get their full licence and it is not just questions around road safety. Questions and education about drug-driving and drink-driving should also form part of the testing. As for investing in the RSA, it takes months and months to get a test and that is also part of road safety because there are a lot of pressures. People are taking chances and saying: "Feck it. I am only going up the road. I don't have the full licence. I can drive."

If we talk about road safety, we have to start from scratch with the RSA, the waiting times for tests, and investing in staff to be able to complete proper and adequate testing for people when they are ready to take their test. That is my statement about road safety and awareness. If people can walk away from an accident, as I did after two years, they are very lucky people. Their family is so lucky to have them alive but unfortunately we saw many deaths on our roads in the month of August and what we are trying to do, collectively, is have road safety. I encourage people to never, ever drink- or drug-drive or think that they will just pick up their phone for a second because it only takes a split second. My mother always said there is no good driver and to always expect the unexpected from what is coming in front of you. We should signpost more to people on our roads to slow down, that people will still get there, or those kinds of messages. I genuinely believe the stronger we are on drink-driving and drug-driving, the better because we will protect everybody on the road.