Mr. Eamon Ryan: The Green Party supports this Bill and will assist its swift enactment. Unlike other parties, we do not wish to score political points about difficulties which the Minister has had in the drafting process. However, I take the opportunity to make some broader points about the lack of planning in terms of road safety. The Minister sometimes seems to respond to an expectation of immediate responses on traffic matters, rather than in the context of an overall plan.
Despite our anxiety to have action taken and our welcome for road safety campaigns over the Christmas period – although there is a valid question as to why that is not in operation throughout the year – what we really need is comprehensive, joined-up thinking with regard to road design, law enforcement and traffic management in general. Apart from immediate responses such as Operation Freeflow or other traffic management operations, we need to start tackling the nuts and bolts of everyday planning and design of our roads and urban environment. It is only when we begin to get that aspect in order that we will begin to see improvements in safety.
The reduction in road deaths in recent years is, of course, welcome. However, the reality is that the ongoing slaughter of approximately 350 people on our roads each year, as well as serious injuries to thousands of people, is totally unacceptable. We should start from the premise that not a single life should be lost and work from there to achieve that ambition.
That is how other countries are tackling this issue. Instead of approaching the situation in terms of minor adjustments, they are starting from first principles as to how road safety can be brought to a level at which accidents can be eliminated. That has to be the starting point for road design and driving habits. First, the most vulnerable must be protected, including the young, the old, pedestrians and cyclists, none of whom enjoy the protection of a half tonne metal shell around them. The Minister’s first task is to start protecting those categories of road users, following which he should act to protect motorists and other vehicle users. How does one do that? One takes the situation junction by junction and road by road. Junctions are particularly important as that is where many accidents occur.
In the context of Garda checks on driving behaviour, it is often difficult to identify improper or incorrect driving on the part of individuals due to the chaotic behaviour of road users in general. That is not necessarily because people are bad drivers, but because we have created a system without proper investment in road safety and design. Although that should be the first aim and objective in transport policy, it is my experience that the priority for road engineers is to get the maximum volume of traffic through the system as quickly as possible. Capacity is their principal criterion, rather than safety. It is time the Minister started to change that situation, so that safety issues take precedence.
The traffic at the T-junction just outside the Kildare Street gates of Leinster House provides a clear example of the problem to which I am referring. It is most unclear who has priority at that junction and there is constant confusion. On many roads in this city, there is no proper delineation of traffic flows. In such a situation, with all traffic weaving, it is quite difficult to distinguish an individual who is driving under the influence of drink. There is widespread failure to obey traffic signals. A foreigner observing our traffic behaviour would get the impression that every driver is drunk.
Our traffic management is based on getting maximum capacity through the system. Drivers habitually take chances at traffic lights, rather than wait 90 seconds for their next opportunity on green. Until we begin to change that mentality and focus on safety as our first priority, we will still have an annual death toll of 350 people on our roads. While the recent reduction is welcome, it is still totally unacceptable.
There is a culture of drink driving in this country. How many of us can honestly say we have never driven a car after taking a glass of wine or whatever? No individual or section of society can take a holier-than-thou attitude in that regard. That approach will have to change, but it is difficult to see how it will be achieved. It will not be achieved through a series of advertisements on television. Unless we can change the system and our behaviour, the exercise will not succeed.
I welcome the provisions of this Bill, but it is only one element of the long-term planning we need. The type of planning to which I refer is not such that the Minister will get any reward for it. He may not see the results within his term of office or, possibly, that of his successor. However, if we begin to invest properly in our road system on the basis of safety first, particularly for vulnerable users, there will be a long-term reward in terms of lives saved. That should be the Minister’s first responsibility, but that is not the impression I get from his reactive decisions to everyday events.
