Public input sought on next road safety strategy

Public consultations on the Government's next road safety strategy are to be announced today, just days after the target for road deaths in the present strategy was exceeded.

With the deaths of eight young men in traffic crashes at the weekend, the road death toll now stands at 305 this year. The Government's three-year strategy had aimed to cap deaths at 300 for the entire year.

The National Roads Authority will today seek input from the public for the next strategy, which will start next year and last up to five years. Separately, the authority plans to launch a winter road safety campaign later this week, which will focus on driver fatigue.

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen yesterday signalled his intention to introduce a tough new regime for young drivers, with greater penalties for road offences and restrictions on when, how fast and what cars they can drive.

The Minister is to receive proposals from the National Safety Authority this week for young drivers to be put off the road if they exceed six penalty points, rather than the normal 12. The proposals would apply to people on provisional licences and for a two-year period after a person passed the driving test. New drivers would also be forced to use cars with smaller engines and to travel at lower speeds.

Although Mr Cullen has yet to see the proposals, he said he believed the regime for licensing and training drivers had to be substantially changed. "We have to be radical. We have to look at the issues of young boys under the age of 25 and we're going to have to make a serious change in their whole attitude on the road," he said.

"Should you be allowed on the road 24/7 if you're only a learner driver? Should you be allowed on the road late at night, and what are the penalties if you break those laws?"

Meanwhile, changes to the driver theory test, which came into effect yesterday, are likely to make the test more difficult. The changes include a revision of existing questions, the introduction of a separate theory test for motorcyclists and moped drivers, and an increase from 750 to 1,250 in the number of questions in the question bank.

Applicants will now be asked questions dealing with behaviour in traffic situations, taking emergency or corrective action, and responding to pedestrians. This is the first change to the test since it was introduced in 2001.