Publication of 'The Road to Safety'

The Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D, today, (Friday, 31 July 1998) announced publication of The Road to Safety, a Government strategy for road safety.

" The loss to society from road accidents is enormous. Over 26,000 people have died in road accidents in Ireland this century", the Taoiseach said. " This first ever national road safety strategy is intended to address this unacceptable social problem urgently and systematically. Within five years, the Government wants to reduce deaths and serious injuries from road accidents by at least 20%. If we succeed - and the Government and the road safety agencies are determined that we should, 172 lives will be saved in the year 2002 compared to the continuation of present policies".

The Taoiseach continued, " The time has come to adopt a more pro-active and precautionary approach to road safety in Ireland. The requirements of efficient transport and the convenience of our social lives cannot be allowed to dominate road safety policy, as to some extent they have done in the past. We need to relate road safety to wider issues of health and security, so that the various restrictions and disciplines imposed by road traffic regulations are seen as contributing positively to a safer Irish society".

" The Government wants to position Ireland among the best in the world in relation to road safety", added the Taoiseach.

Mr. Noel Dempsey T. D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government, said that the lack of road safety, resulting in fatal and serious injury accidents, has tragically marked the lives of thousands of Irish families. " This strategy is about coordinating and intensifying action so that we reduce risks and improve road safety performance. The strategy sets an ambitious target of reducing road fatalities in Ireland by 20% within the coming five years. It specifies a set of policies and measures, to improve human behaviour on our roads and to make roads and vehicles safer, which will support the achievement of this target. Attitude surveys show strong public support in Ireland for intensified action to improve road safety. That base of public support, together with the strong commitment of all implementing public agencies and the good directions set by this strategy, will deliver us the safer road environment we all want".

Mr. Robert Molloy, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government with responsibility for road safety said that major gains in road safety are achievable in Ireland as elsewhere by a concerted effort in three areas: speeding, alcohol and seat belt wearing. The strategy would prioritise these 3 areas both by new initiatives and the intensification of existing instruments and measures. Minister Molloy said that there were pressing economic as well as human reasons for improving road safety. " At present the Irish insurance industry pays out one third more on motor insurance claims than the total of investment by the National Roads Authority and local authorities in maintaining and improving the public road network."

In conclusion, the Taoiseach stated that the strategy will need wide public, political and media support. " The impulse for its development came late last year from widespread concern, in which I shared, at the very high level of road accidents then occurring. We need that concern and support to be maintained so that, under the coordination of the strategy, all will play their part in making Irelands roads safer".

ENDS

THE ROAD TO SAFETY: Main specific proposals

1. TARGETS - by 2002

Primary

  • to reduce Irish road fatalities by 2002 by a minimum of 20% on their 1997 level and to achieve a reduction of at least 20% in serious injuries in the same period

Supporting

  • to reduce the incidence of speeding by 50%
  • to increase seat belt wearing levels to 85%
  • to reduce by 25% the number of fatal road accidents occuring during the hours of darkness
  • to implement accident reduction measures at more than 400 additional national road locations

2.COMMON Policies and Measures

Improving Enforcement

  • continuation of Operation Lifesaver.
  • upgrading of Garda and other IT systems relevant to enforcement.
  • extension of on-the-spot fines to non-wearing of seat belts and other offences.
  • development of a penalty points system for driving offences and concurrent activation of 1994 Road Traffic Act provision requiring carrying of driving licence.

Harnessing Best Technology

  • speed cameras (mobile and fixed).
  • evidential breath testing (provided for in the Road Traffic Act, 1994).
  • active deployment of ice-detection monitoring system by NRA.
  • support for the application of developments in the field of telematics to road safety.

Multi-Agency Co-Operation

All national and local agencies involved in road safety will commit themselves actively to the implementation and delivery of the Strategy in a spirit of a good multi-agency co-operation.

Wider Public Ownership

Support to be mobilised from : private citizens, voluntary and other local interests, local authorities, insurance industry, motor industry, drinks industry, telecom industry.

3. SAFER HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Speeding

  • NRA will carry out a comprehensive national speed survey
  • three additional mobile detection units
  • fixed speed cameras will be installed on the N1 national route in Dublin, Meath and Louth
  • the option of revising speed limits downwards will be examined.

Alcohol

  • evidential breath testing will be introduced
  • random breath testing will be considered
  • reduction of BAC limit to 50 mg in many EU member states will be monitored and assessed

Drugs

  • developments internationally on detection equipment will be monitored and assessed

Seat Belt Wearing

  • on the spot fines will be applied
  • a national survey of seat belt wearing will be carried out
  • publicity will emphasise the need to wear seat belts on short and long trips

Education and Information

  • new resource material for input to the primary school curriculum
  • new material and programmes for the post-primary sector
  • introduction of a written theory test
  • practical initial training for motorcyclists will be considered
  • the Driver Instructor Register will seek quality certification
  • waiting times for driving tests will be reduced
  • awareness campaigns on speeding, drink driving and seat belt wearing will be continue
  • pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists will be strategically targeted in awareness campaigns
  • NSC will more actively support initiatives at local authorities and communities levels.

4. SAFER VEHICLES

  • Ireland will continue to support strongly the development and introduction of new vehicle safety measures at EU level and will press for their implementation at the earliest possible dates.

    In particular Ireland will press for the mandatory fitting of anti-lock brakes to a wider range of vehicles, including all coaches and trucks/trucks towing trailers, wider application of the requirement to fit speed limitation devices and better safety-belt standards including more use of 3-point belts.
  • A range of new safety related measures will be implemented at national level - the fitting of spray suppression devices to heavy goods vehicles, increased use of child restraints, wider and more effective use of speed limitation devices, and improved standards for tyres, mirrors, lights and signalling equipment.
  • Compulsory testing for cars and other vehicles not covered by the existing schemes will commence during 1999.
  • National regulations dealing with the construction, equipment and use of vehicles will be revised to take account of various technical developments in the field of primary and secondary safety.
  • The use of daytime running lights (DRL) will be examined in more detail, with priority being given to the application of DRL to motor cycles, as a particularly vulnerable category.
  • Proposals for enhancing school bus safety will be brought forward and will be the subject of a pubic consultation process before finalising actions.

5. SAFER ROADS

Making national roads safer

The recently completed database will be used by NRA to assess the relative contributions of various physical parameters to accident occurrence and to identify and target high accident locations. NRA will then prioritise these locations for counter-measures under one of the following headings:

  • Low cost remedial measures - NRA will continue and expand activity on low cost remedial measures over the 5 years of this Strategy so as to treat, as a minimum, an additional 400 high accident locations on national roads by 2002.
  • Traffic calming - NRA have finalised a 5 year programme for traffic calming on the national network which will run in parallel with this Strategy and (at least) maintain the present level of investment in this important road safety measure.
  • Safety audits - NRA has initiated both Safety Audit and Safety Check procedures; those techniques will be developed and extended by NRA throughout the Strategy period.

Making non-national roads safer

The plotting of accident locations on non-national roads is being improved. In conjunction with NRA, the Local Government Computer Services Board has recently developed a Mapinfo GIS system to allow local authorities to undertake the storage, analysis and presentation of relevant NRA accident data. All local authorities will have the necessary software by September 1998.

Plots of accident locations will be used by local authorities to highlight locations where accidents tend to cluster. NRA will assist local authorities with the design of Low Cost Accident counter-measures, based on their experience with the national road network.

Making urban roads safer

Innovative urban road safety engineering solutions will continue to be promoted by the Department of the Environment and Local Government throughout the period of this Strategy (in the Dublin region these will be promoted by DTO). Appropriate monitoring systems in relation to such measures will also be put in place.