A MENU OF options which could include curfew hours banning late-night driving or restrictions on engine size and speed, are being studied by the Road Safety Authority as part of a “reconfiguration of the driving licence” for young men, according to authority chairman Gay Byrne.
At the Rose of Tralee festival yesterday, the former event host said males aged between 17 and 24 were “internationally” more dangerous and, with two or more of their contemporaries in a car, were 85 per cent more likely to have a crash, he said.
The Road Safety Authority would “make a selection” and by means of a reconfiguration of the driving licence, “may save a few parents from that knock on the door at 3 am,” he added.
Mr Byrne was speaking as he tried out the Honda motorbike simulator in the authority’s mobile interactive shuttle which is visiting the Rose of Tralee festival in Kerry.
The unit, which is the cornerstone of a new safety campaign, offers car simulators, driver theory test computers, multi-media games and smarter travel bikes. It is to be parked wherever there is a crowd and is heading for the National Ploughing Championships next.
“Up to now the national road safety effort has been led by major media campaigns, which have been hugely successful,” Mr Byrne said. “However we felt that something was needed to bring road safety directly into people’s everyday lives, at a face-to-face level.”
The authority’s chief executive Noel Brett said the road safety message was getting through. The number of road deaths so far this year yesterday stood at 159, 31 fewer than the same day last year.
There was absolutely no doubt that a reduction in alcohol levels would save lives, he said.
Meanwhile, festival chief executive Anthony O’Gara said plans for a permanent rose centre, which would include an exhibition hall and function room, were still on the cards. The dome, a temporary structure, costs more than €130,000 each year and local festival organisers and business people believe that a permanent centre would be a major tourist attraction.
The competition will be televised tonight and tomorrow night on RTÉ 1 with host Ray D’Arcy.