Vol. 463 No. 6
217 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to an article in a British newspaper (details supplied) which seems to indicate that drivers generally disobey road signs; the concerns, if any, she has regarding this matter; the factual evidence, if any, there is to suggest that this is a contributory factor in road traffic accidents. [6882/96]
The Garda authorities have confirmed that failure to obey road traffic signs by drivers can result in accidents in certain cases. Breaches of the general by-laws, local traffic and parking by-laws and speed limit regulations are examples of such offences.
There are, however, no statistics available for the number of accidents which have occurred in such circumstances. The information could only be obtained by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of Garda time and resources.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that, complementary to the ongoing strict and sustained enforcement of the road traffic laws, there are special road safety campaigns conducted throughout the year encouraging motorists to exercise greater care and stay within the law.
