Garda driver training needs 'improvement'

A report has reccommended that major improvements be introduced to Garda driver training in a bid to reduce the number of claims arising from crashes involving a Garda vehicle.

The State is currently facing 264 claims from crashes involving Garda vehicles and the State Claims Agency (SCA) says the cost of settling these claims could be more than €10 million.

In a bid to reduce the level of claims, the SCA carried out a study of the causes of the collisions leading to claims from gardaí, entitled Review of Road Traffic Accidents involving An Garda Síochána.

This analysis found that maintenance on the type of vehicles used by gardaí had almost no role in crashes that had resulted in claims. Instead, the report concentrated on changes to training and deployment.

The claims included those from gardaí and members of the public involved in a crash with a Garda vehicle. A source within the SCA said: "We looked at the claims data and we looked at the RTA data and can decide what is causing the RTAs; is it training, weather, speed, human error. Almost none was associated with vehicle maintenance."

The report was given to An Garda Síochána last year and the force has requested some time to examine its findings before reverting back to the SCA.

Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock, who is head of the Garda Traffic Corps said the issue of garda driver training was being dealt with. "Driver training is being addressed. We have met with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) people and we have taken on board their concerns." When a garda makes a claim against the State it is usually first sent to the PIAB which later refers it to the SCA. It was revealed earlier this year that more than 2,000 gardaí are driving official vehicles under a system known as "chief's permission" which allows a garda without adequate training to drive - a system whereby a garda with a full driving licence is given written permission to drive an official vehicle.

Originally introduced as a temporary measure the practice is now common. The source added that the study was carried out in the context of an overall decline in the number of claims against State employers. This decline included a fall in claims from An Garda Síochána.

Assistant Commissioner Rock also denied that a Public Accounts Committee report last week, highlighting weaknesses with penalty points, had undermined public faith in the system.

"No, the report is not harmful. In general enforcement is at a very high level and the amount of penalty points that are being issued has to be creating a compliance culture."

He said the level of penalty points being issued, particularly since April when the number of offences attracting penalty points was increased, meant that almost every driver either had or knew someone who had penalty points.

The report found that half of the photographs from fixed speed cameras were unusable.

Assistant Commissioner Rock said a tender would shortly be issued for the procurement of six digital speed cameras which would result in a higher proportion of images being usable.

However, he said some of the problems caused by unreadable number plates would remain with digital cameras.