Sir, - If you own a restaurant with poorly-lit stairs, you're in trouble. If your factory loading bay has a slippery surface, watch out! If there are cables all over your office floor, then the first to trip will be the first to sue. Anyone who has carried out, or undergone, a typical safety audit will have dealt with these situations and will be under no illusions about their own responsibility and the importance of being "covered" when it comes to safety in public places.
Why, then, can our traffic managers and road makers get away with it? Dangerous surfaces, poor markings, non-existent policing, eccentric speed limits, inadequate signing, dismal lighting - all these are commonplace on our roads, yet the driver is always to blame for damage, death and injury. Insurance - that is, you and I - must pay every time. There are plenty of examples of good practice, and many more of culpable neglect and blame-shifting on the part of the authorities. I hold no brief for bad driving, but it is surely time for traffic management, law enforcement and road maintenance to catch up with the rest of society and be accountable for their failures. Only then will we be able to use our roads with confidence, and confidently point the finger at the genuine wrongdoer. - Yours, etc.,
Philip Jackson, St Laurence Road, Chapelizod, Dublin 20.