Sir, - The Hallowe'en bank holiday has come and gone - and so has the National Road Safety Council's launch of the latest safety awareness campaign.
I don't know what happened in the rest of the country, but in this neck of the woods there was no discernible difference in road manners or Garda activity, and I didn't see one of the million free flags on offer.
I regret to say that in my opinion the whole exercise was a PR stunt that failed miserably. Worse than that, it was a further signal to all road-rules abusers that the authorities are not really serious about tackling this cancer.
The most important element in disciplining road users is policing, not just once in a blue moon, but constantly - and those who enforce traffic law need to be exemplary in their own road use.
Gardai are to be admired for their vigilance against crime and terrorism, but it is quite evident that they are ill-equipped in attitude and numbers to police our roads properly. There is a pressing need for a meaningful traffic corps and for local gardai to tackle misdemeanours such as: no lights on bikes or trailers, cycling on the wrong side of the road and down one-way roads, illegal parking, speeding in 30-mph areas, etc.
I have an uncomfortable feeling that at local level there is an unwritten policy not to prosecute minor traffic offences for fear of alienating local public opinion. However, useful disciplines are learnt at local level in small but educational ways that temper drivers when they engage in more life-threatening activities on faster roads.
The National Road Safety Council is quite right to point that the initial responsibility for road safety lies with each individual, but I am afraid that our national psyche regarding personal responsibility and maturely seeing the relevance of good law means that relying on our own goodwill is not enough. Those who choose to behave responsibly should not be disadvantaged by blackguards. Nearly all transgressors of the laws of the road know exactly what they are doing and they know that the chances of getting away without prosecution are massive.
It is interesting to note that in the United States, where passing the driving test is somewhat easier than here and where there is constant expert policing, road safety is very good.
Bearing in mind the history of law enforcement in this land it is understandable that there has been a resistance to obeying authority; but we have now had an independent State for nearly 80 years. Isn't it time we grew up? - Yours, etc.,
Peter Seaver, Outrath, Co Kilkenny.