Road quality fears by RSA

THE ROAD Safety Authority (RSA) has expressed concern at the number of drivers killed in crashes where the quality of the road is listed as a cause by gardaí. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show RSA chief executive Noel Brett wrote twice to the Department of Transport requesting a meeting between gardaí, the City and County Managers Association and the National Roads Authority to discuss the matter. While the vast majority of crashes - 88 per cent - are attributed to driver error, nine people, or 2.5 per cent of all those killed in 2006, died in collisions where the condition of road was a factor.

In his letter in February 2008 Mr Brett said because "road factors" are featuring in road crashes there was merit in examining available data "to ensure that trends emerging are identified, addressed and appropriate action taken". He wrote again in August requesting an update. Gardaí recently completed training a team of forensic collision investigators and this allows for a much more specific conclusions as to the cause of a crash than before.

Families of those killed in crashes have called for the establishment of an independent unit to inquire into the cause because in cases where the DPP does not pursue an action the Garda file remains closed. This can prevent families from accessing information on the causes of the crash.