Key target dates for road safety strategy missed

Key target dates for the development and implementation of measures in the Government's road safety strategy were missed and the target dates subsequently changed, The Irish Times has established.

The main target of the Government's strategy, The Road to Safety, announced in 1998, was to reduce road fatalities by 20 per cent on 1997 levels by 2002. This was to be achieved by a number of measures involving legislation, education and enforcement.

However, while the enforcement aspects have been stepped up by the Garda and education and awareness campaigns, including dramatic new advertising organised by the National Safety Council, have begun, major aspects of the strategy have not been put in place, nor are likely to be operational before the end of 2002.

These aspects include the development of the penalty points system for drivers. When the strategy was announced in 1998 the penalty points system was to be developed that year and the legislation brought forward in 1999.

After this date was missed, the second progress report of the high- level group set up to oversee the implementation of the strategy carried a new target date without explanation. This report, dated July 2000, provided a target date of 2000. When it was missed again a third progress report of the high- level group, released in July 2001, moved this date to 2001.

Now, while the legislation is due to be debated in the Dβil next month, the computerised systems will not be ready until October next at the earliest. The result is that the penalty points system will probably not impact on The Road to Safety at all.

The strategy also envisaged a decision on random breath-testing in 1999. In the second report this target date was changed to 2000, and in the third progress report the date was again changed to 2001.

Other target dates which were in the original strategy and which were missed and subsequently changed include:

Regulations to require the carrying of a driving licence. Originally scheduled for 1999, subsequently changed to 2001;

The introduction of a written theory test, originally 1999, subsequently introduced in 2001;

Computerisation of a national driver file, originally scheduled for 2000, subsequently changed to 2001;

A national seatbelt-wearing survey supposed to have been introduced in 1998 was subsequently changed to 2001 and later changed to 2002;

A comprehensive national speed survey was supposed to have been carried out by 1999. The date was subsequently changed to 2000 and is now given as 2002;

The strategy also initially envisaged a decision on introducing evidential breath-testing being made by 1998, with its extension State-wide in 1999, but when these target dates were missed, they were subsequently changed and the latest dates are that the process will be ongoing through 2002.

In 2000 the chairman of the National Safety Council, Mr Eddie Shaw, said that without doubt, if the strategy had been implemented as it was envisaged "people would be walking about who are now dead". Yesterday Mr Shaw repeated that assertion to The Irish Times.

He said part of the problem seemed to be "a black hole between the Departments of Finance, Justice and the garda∅". He instanced the Garda request for four people to operate the integrated technology required.

"After 14 months the answer came back that they could have two," Mr Shaw said. He praised the Garda efforts to reduce road accidents.

However, while he accepted that The Road to Safety was not now likely to succeed in its objective of reducing road deaths by 20 per cent over 1987 levels, he was convinced there were people walking around who would not be if the strategy had not been there.

"Going forward we are now into the drafting of the strategy for the following five years. The prospect of drivers being caught and the deterrent will feature in our advertising.

"I believe we can reduce deaths by up to half if we convince drivers that they will be caught if they transgress. But we will not be able to do this if there is a further delay in deployment of enforcement technology", he warned.