Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Transport if he has any plans to address the frequency of road deaths caused by cars and lorries turning off main roads into housing developments; if a disproportionate number of road deaths are caused in this manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9685/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Statistics relating to road accidents, based on information provided by the Garda Síochána, are published by the National Roads Authority, NRA, in its annual road accident facts reports. The most recent report, Road Collision Facts, relates to 2003 and is available on the NRA website. Reports relating to previous years are available in the Oireachtas Library.

The Road Collision Facts 2003 publication indicates that there were a total of 301 fatal collisions and 5,684 injury collisions in that year, of which 63 fatal collisions and 2,011 injury collisions were at junctions. The reports, however, do not contain details of collisions which occur specifically at junctions with housing developments.

It is the policy of the National Roads Authority to seek to restrict direct access onto national roads in order to protect the substantial investment already made in the network, to improve carrying capacity and safety and to prevent the premature obsolescence of the network.

Under Part 4, Article 28 (j)(i)(ii) of the 2001 planning and development regulations, notification of planning applications which involve a new access or material widening of an access to an existing or planned national road or where the development might give rise to a significant increase in the volume of traffic using a national road, must be sent to the National Roads Authority. The authority may make submissions or observations on such planning applications in accordance with Article 29 of the regulations.

The upgrade of the national road network, involving as it does the provision of motorway or dual carriageway standard road on the major inter-urban routes and the provision of two plus one roads on other routes, will improve safety standards through the elimination of right-turning movements. Traffic calming schemes and better arrangements such as dedicated lanes where practicable, for right-turning traffic being implemented as part of the roads upgrade programme is also assisting in improving safety levels.