Robin
I fully agree with you and believe that we need a separate function within our State apparatus to deal with this cancer within Irish communities and families.It should be funded with a budget similar to the Road Safety Authority and staffed with people who would be held accountable for targeted results. These would not be jobs for the usual hangers on but someone with the depth of understanding such as Dr John Connolly should be asked to handpick the type of individuals that we need initially as this awful illness among our people needs to be addressed.

I couldn’t agree with you more Michael.

I had the pleasure of being involved with a fund raising drive around Ireland last year with a bunch of so called “boy/girl racers” to raise much needed funds for 1life/Console suiside awareness and Our Ladys hospital.
It was one of the most moving sights I have seen when the members of midnightclub.ie handing over cheques to each charity for over ?17,500 .
I was infuriated that people have to raise funds for these causes and yet the bondholders are looked after.

Fair play Robbie and sincere thanks. Hope you recover soon.

Mike
You’ve started the New Year with a bang! I don’t believe the Minister was taking personal credit for the Official figures but when you take the stats for the total number of private and commercial vehicles that were taxed in 2012 you don’t get any impression that there are fewer drivers on the roads and you cannot argue with data Mike. Last year witnessed the lowest number of deaths on the roads since records began. Now put your bile aside and deal with the above counterpoints. Don’t give me the usual ….TROLL ALERT… Just once please deal with facts. Is that too hard for you or will you just slip into the usual bullying mode?

Well michael j collins/paddy rodgers or whomever you are today.
Vehicle registration/taxing has shown a large decline but of course beind as pedantic as you are you will know that.
Quite aside from taxing and registration there was massive fuel costs that cut down on journey time.
I also see a lot (not all) of younger drivers showing and taking a lot more responsibility on the road .
The RSA adverts are limp wristed to say the least and I have shared road safety adverts from Austrailia that just get to the point.
The Garda budgets have been decimated to the point of almost disbanding the traffic corps .
So michael, where was the targeting and at whom is it aimed.
We are in the middle of aligations of blatent corruption of the points ststem (I did state “aligations”)
I spend a lot of time driving and seeing the anti-social behaviour is shocking.
Truck drivers on phones,laptops,texting etc.
Car drivers on phones and texting etc.
That is stating a lot of the bad behaviour and thanks to the Garda presence that helps but the main contribution is from drivers behaviour and vehicle safety.

Car tax means nothing it should be fuel measured to indicate road usage

Spot on Paddy. Even the toll bridges aren’t indicative of traffic numbers as a huge amount of drivers avoid tolls.

Suicide costs money if you lose a skilled worked who was paying tax into the economy.

You say the government doesn’t care about suicide prevention – what about the billions and billions spent on health every year. There’s not much the government can do if someone decides to kill themselves.

Are the billions spent on mental health???? The billions are spent on middle management in the hse. Wake up will u

April
Suicide cannot be dealt with by so called Mental Health. That’s jobs for the boys and girls! That approach won’t save one life. In recent weeks when one tragedy hit a particular family are you saying the Psychiatric Services were not on watch when another child took her own life.
This epidemic need a profoundly different approach that challenges individuals and communities and puts specific protocols in place to stop the negativity and the fundamental misunderstandings that lead people to this wasteful and selfish behaviour.
That’s a tough word but with the damage left behind it must be both said and understood.

There’s plenty of old lads out there that should be taken off the road especially when they hit 50 they are just a pain

@mvm . Bit of a immature statement that.

Added to that the motorway network, and safer newer cars.
If they really supported the gardai the wouldn’t be cutting resources and number in the traffic corps. Its a rare occurrence to see the the gaurds out on the roads (on any form of traffic duty) these days.

Its a bit unfair to group anyone over fifty as a bad driver.
I know plenty of people fifty and older how can drive just as good as the next fella!

I don’t see how,every time I use a motorway I end up behind some old idiot going below the speed limit in the overtaking lane or dear old granny just deciding to stop in the middle of the road

Bilbo, I didn’t see one garda car or an unmarked garda car all Christmas and I was on the road a good bit.

Jason, If you were parked in the same spot for the duration of Christmas? I doubt you’d see many, either?

Drive Perfect. Perfect comment! I asked them about a road sign that every motorist who drove in and out of Dublin on its main arteries passed by. The answer I got was they never saw one, and advised me to try Dublin City Council who in turn advised me to try CIE. This question was for a school project on road safety my son was doing. I hope somebody from the RSA is reading this comment.

@ Declan Byrne. There is speed restrictions on trucks, buses etc. They are governed to 100kph. Also slower speed limits apply on certain roads. Eg some roads are 80kph for a car but 60 kph for trucks etc.

You have a point. Access to motorways, better national roads, higher safety standards if cars… Add to that the speed van, spot checks on drunk driving, older cars have been taken off the road as they do not have NCT certification…
Any reduction in the number of deaths is to be welcomed, whatever the cause in reduction!

Mr Shatter.
This decrease in road deaths would not have anything to do with your government depopulating our youth faster than famine times?
This decrease in road deaths would not have anything to do with your government’s austerity program making it impossible for some people to afford road travel?

Not to divert from the Subject Mr Shatter.
There are far more financially related suicides than road deaths in Ireland each year.
Suicides induced by financial pressure dished out by corrupt/criminal bankers.
Corrupt/Criminal banker’s that your government insist on harboring and rewarding.

The view the road safety authority have adopted along with the Gardai is that there is no such thing as an accident.
At all times, someone is responsible.
They are now called collisions. So if someone crashes on spilt oil, the person who spilt the oil is responsible (even if no one can be found) If someone crashes on black ice, that person is responsible as they should drive to the road conditions (even though they didn’t see the ice). And when you start to hold people accountable for their collisions, figures drop.

One of the cases of a person who had there points wiped (they were travelling near 160kmp/h in a 100kmp/h zone), was involved in a fatal accident 3 months later.

Id say you’re ridiculously lucky, or very forgetful. I get stopped at checkpoints about once every 6 weeks, and I dont drive that much relatively.

@ciaran well said & thats the bottom line.profit for private companies.

Believe it or not Ciaran it does save lives. When you speed and get caught and accumulate penalty points, your speeding slows because you value the remaining points you have.

If you don’t see the cops and get caught speeding, you become more wary of “hiding” cops and just out of fear of being caught again you will drive a bit slower.

But if you are speeding and see the cops in plain view, you slow down, pass them trying not to look at them (as you think did they get me) and when they are out of site of your rear view mirror you get back up to your high speed again. And smile thinking you got away with it.
Just remember you need to be lucky every time you speed, the Gardai just need to be lucky once. !

And one last thing Ciaran, just like in France, they do put signs up here that speed cameras are in place. They are placed at the beginning and end of the speed zone that the go safe camera vans park in. Open your eyes

The gardai can only work with what the govt. provides them. The gardai should be an independent organisation. If they were they could really focus on saving lives. Unfortunately what shatter says goes

If you gave independence next they’ll want stetsons and revolvers. Where would you draw the line?