Insurers attack Government on road safety

Motor insurers have delivered a stinging attack on senior Government ministers by accusing them of failing to deal with the carnage on Irish roads. In a letter to all senior Government ministers involved in road safety the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) said the Government "must acknowledge that the Road Safety Strategy 2004 to 2006 has failed."

The IIF accuses the Ministers of not treating road safety as a priority and called for additional funding to be immediately made available to fund road safety projects.

Mike Kemp, IIF chief executive sent the letter earlier this month to all members of the Cabinet sub-committee on road safety, comprising the Ministers for Transport, Justice, Finance, Health and Education. He also wrote to the Taoiseach.

According to a Department of Finance spokesman, the Minister is considering the letter before drafting a reply. Accusing the Government of inaction, the IIF states that there is a "world of difference between agreeing/documenting a strategy and its implementation."

The IIF also expressed concern that the Traffic Corps is not concentrating exclusively on policing road safety. According to the IIF, the Traffic Corps officers are not being "operationally ringfenced which means that members must frequently perform other duties at the expense of their primary function. Implementation requires effective action that saves lives and prevents serious injury," said Mr Kemp.

The detailed assessment of the problems in the Government's current actions includes a critique of the penalty points system which is due to be extended to a further 31 offences early next month. Mr Kemp notes that 246,196 penalty point notices were issued for speeding in 2002, the year penalty points were introduced.

"The cumulative total of penalty points issued for speeding over the following 3 years and 3 months is just over 320,000. Though this might be construed as indicating a reduction in the incidence of speeding, the reality on our roads tells a completely different story," he said.

A survey by the National Roads Authority last month showed that 63 per cent of car drivers broke the 80km/h limit on regional roads in 2005, compared to only 8 per cent in 2003. Mr Kemp was also concerned at the paltry number of 129 penalty points issued for dangerous driving in the last 3 years and 3 months, a little less than one a week nationwide.

The current Road Safety Strategy recommended 11 million speed checks per annum but, as Mr Kemp notes, legislation on the outsourcing of private speed cameras "has not been commenced." The letter tells the Ministers that: "Without this legislation and the appropriate use of technology this target and the expected consequent reduction in fatalities and serious injuries cannot be achieved."

The letter is one of the strongest attacks yet from the private sector on the Government's road safety performance. The IIF was also critical of the Government's failure to bring in compulsory basic training for motorcyclists, despite the fact that they accounted for 17 per cent of all deaths but only 2 per cent of licensed vehicles.

To fund road safety programmes the IIF has called for the stamp duty on non-life insurance premiums raised from motorists (about €33.4 million) to be spent on road safety programmes.

Mr Kemp said it was vital that the various departments and agencies charged with implementing the National Road Safety Strategy had the resources required. "If these bodies are to deliver results which impact significantly on the number of fatalities and serious injuries on our roads they must be given whatever support they need," he said.