We will hear a presentation by Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited on the safe driving pledge. I welcome Bishop Willie Walsh, Diocese of Killaloe, Dr. Mark Delargy, consultant in rehabilitation medicine at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, Mr. John Flanagan, director of driving courses for transition year students, Ms Patricia Lynch, director-secretary, National Driving Standards Limited, Mr. Pat Cribbin, CEO, Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited, and Mr. Jim Connolly, chairman, Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited. Perhaps Mr. Connolly would begin the presentation on the safe driving pledge.
Safe Driving Pledge: Presentation.
Allow me to make a correction. Mr. Pat Cribbin is the assistant CEO of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire.
I am honoured to be here representing the safe driving pledge, a promotion of Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited, which is a registered charity. Our delegation has already been introduced.
Speaking on behalf of Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited, the originators of the safe driving pledge, I want first to thank the Chairman for this opportunity to make a presentation on a topic which places such a huge responsibility on every person who sits behind a steering wheel. Second, our deepest gratitude is due to the members of this delegation who are taking time out of their extremely busy lives to attend today's meeting to share their expert knowledge and experience in the common cause of the prevention of road accidents. I acknowledge the financial support of our main sponsors, Hibernian Insurance and the Ireland Fund, without which the safe driving pledge would not be in place. I also wish to record the advice of the National Safety Council, the AA, the Garda Síochána, the former Minister for Transport, Deputy Séamus Brennan, and others in the preparation of the Safe Driving Pledge campaign.
In this brief introduction, I will set out the background to the pledge before introducing my fellow members who will make their contributions and respond to questions. Speaking in general, the State exercises a high level of responsibility in the prevention of road accidents. Various State agencies regulate standards of driving, vehicle maintenance, road quality, law enforcement and so on. Without such a high level of State involvement presumably things would be chaotic and far worse in terms of injuries and deaths than they are. However, it is recognised world-wide that community involvement in the promotion of road safety can also play an important role. There are many examples of successful campaigns in all countries. It is from this community-based background that the safe driving pledge has emerged.
The promoter, Rural Resettlement Ireland Limited, is a registered charity founded 15 years ago. Rural resettlement is an original approach to combating the social ill of rural depopulation by assisting families from disadvantaged urban areas to resettle permanently in the country for an improved quality of life, especially for their children. From a national, community and personal perspective it is a win-win situation. RRI is now involved in building houses for resettling families under voluntary housing regulations. The organisation has had the approval and support of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government since 1992.
The idea of a safe driving pledge came about in the following way. In 1997 I personally made a safe driving pledge in a public manner in a letter published in The Irish Times. There was no fund-raising in my mind at that time. As an ordinary citizen I stated that it was my view that each driver must take personal responsibility for his or her speed, irrespective of the fear of getting caught. I called on leaders in society to show a good example and to do likewise. Seven years later I linked the safe driving pledge idea with the charitable work of RRI and this campaign was launched in December 2004.
Drivers wishing to take the pledge make a contribution of €20 towards the charitable work of Rural Resettlement Ireland. In turn, RRI will make a charitable gift of 10% of moneys raised through the pledge after the deduction of administration expenses to the National Rehabilitation Hospital on an ongoing basis and at no cost to the hospital. The appeal to leaders of society has been successful. Several Senators, TDs, county councillors and others have taken the safe driving pledge. Safe driving pledge leaflets are available at motor taxation offices, local libraries, national car test centres and several driving schools. The idea has received support from many health board centres and professional driving associations.
In initiating the safe driving pledge, we believe we have established an original and timely safe driving concept which will grow organically throughout the country. By displaying a safe driving pledge sticker on their cars, drivers acknowledge the fact that safe driving is everybody's personal responsibility. As public awareness of the pledge grows, we look forward with confidence to a higher level of care in driving habits resulting in fewer injuries and deaths.
I would like to update the members on people in public life who have agreed to become pledge leaders and who have given us written permission to use their names, as this idea behind this initiative is based on leadership. Some of these people are present today, while others are not. They include Bishop Willie Walsh, Eamon Lawlor of RTE, Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú, Senator Maurice Hayes, Eddie Lenihan, Pat Shortt, Deputy Jerry Cowley, Una O'Dwyer and Valerie O'Keeffe — all-Ireland camogie champions — Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, Senator Feargal Quinn, Deputies James Breen and John Moloney, Michael Holmes, county councillor, the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, Patricia Lynch from the Driving Standards Agency Ireland Limited, who is here today, Councillor Dermot Connolly, Councillor Adrian Murray, John Flanagan, who is involved in the transition year safe driving course, and Senator Ann Ormonde. These people have taken the pledge. They are prepared to give public recognition to it, for which we are grateful.
The foregoing is the general background to the pledge. I have pleasure in calling my colleagues to contribute. If I may, I would like to call Bishop Willie Walsh, who does not need any introduction. In connection with this pledge, we are grateful for his agreement to participate.
Bishop Willie Walsh
I will be brief. My experience in this area is limited to having had some contact over the years with people who have been involved in serious accidents. I would be very much aware of the enormous devastation such accidents cause to the people involved in them and to their parents and other family members. I regard this issue as very important.
When Mr. Connolly approached me to come on board to support this initiative, I hesitated and said that I would take time to think about it. The reason I hesitated is that I knew that if I took this pledge, I would have to change my behaviour. I would have regarded myself over the years as a reasonably careful driver but at times the reality was that I did not obey all the laws. For that reason I hesitated to commit myself to this pledge. However, having reflected on it, I felt that it was not a minor but a serious moral issue. I felt that if I was convinced that it was a serious moral issue, I should lend my support to it. I am not suggesting that any single factor is responsible because, obviously, many factors — including roads, type of car and speed limits — come together in respect of safe driving. This can make a contribution, however, and that is why I am happy to be associated with it. I believe it can help to save lives.
I now call on Dr. Mark Delargy from the National Rehabilitation Hospital to make his contribution.
Dr. Mark Delargy
I am pleased to be here as part of the delegation. I apologise for not having a briefing document. I put that down to the fact that I am a late replacement for my colleague, Dr. McNamara, who is unavoidably absent. I have some reason to be here in respect of the work of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, where I am employed as a brain injury rehabilitation consultant. My colleague, Dr. McNamara, works as a spinal injury consultant, so between us we work with some of the most serious disability victims who survive road traffic accidents.
I will try to provide the committee with statistics to illustrate the work of the National Rehabilitation Hospital and indicate how they reflect road traffic accidents. I want to give some perspectives based on international data. In the field of rehabilitation, we often look to Australia as one of the guiding lights, not only in road safety but also in information gathering. In Ireland, we are not so good at gathering information on serious disability. Information from the health service here is not what I had hoped it would be.
I will quote a statistic from Australia that is quite pertinent: for every person killed on Australian roads, another 11 lie hurt in the trauma wards of that nation's hospitals. That statistic can reasonably be applied to other countries. Deaths on our roads are only the tip of the iceberg compared to the trauma that road traffic accidents present in the Irish context.
Road traffic accidents account for over half the spinal injuries that occur in Australia. If one develops a spinal injury in Australia, there is a 50-50 chance that one has been in a road traffic accident. Those figures include car occupants, who account for 30%, and the 20% of such injuries that involve motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
While it may seem obvious to some people, I want to address what the National Rehabilitation Hospital does in terms of rehabilitation. We specifically look after the tip of the disability iceberg. This is because, in order to have the credit points to get into the NRH, one must have sustained a major disability. We categorise that as a major complex disability. People who sustain rather minor injuries and need the help, for example, of physiotherapists in respect of fractured legs do not traditionally gain admission to the NRH because their injuries are not severe enough.
The statistics I wish to present later for the NRH will reflect the most severe types of injuries one can sustain without dying. They reflect the two areas for which Dr. McNamara and I have particular responsibility, namely, spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries. The latter comprise the area for which I have most responsibility.
One indicator for the entry criteria for the NRH is to examine the length of stay. The idea is that the longer one stays in hospital, the worse one's injuries must have been. The average length of stay for a patient who comes to the NRH is not measured in days. For instance, if one has one's appendix removed, it might take two or three days to get out of hospital. We measure length of stay in months. The average length of stay at the NRH for all patients is of the order of three months. This may suggest to the committee that that is the end of the story but it is not because patients will have spent a considerable number of months waiting for entry to the NRH from acute trauma hospitals. Patients who come to the NRH will often spend close on one year in the hospital service, that is, in a hospital bed, whether in the acute hospital of first admission or in the sector of treatment which we in the NRH provide for patients with a major disability.
We are looking at a single incident catastrophic neurological disability. This encompasses road traffic accidents. Such victims will undergo a rehabilitation programme which involves a host of multidisciplinary teams. Therefore, there will be a medical component which will involve the orthopaedic surgeon, the rehabilitation consultant and the neurosurgeon, followed by all of our rehabilitation colleagues, that is, the physio, the occupational therapist, the neuropsychologist and — reflecting on what Bishop Walsh stated about the trauma which spreads throughout the family — the social worker.
I want to give the joint committee some good news. There appears to be a trend in that the number of road traffic accident admissions to the NRH is decreasing. In 2002 approximately one quarter of new admissions — 142 — were road traffic accident victims. In 2003 the figure fell slightly to 130, while in 2004 there was another significant reduction to 110. Over a three-year period, from 2002 to 2004, 383 victims of road traffic accidents have been admitted to the NRH and required a substantial length of stay. Although I do not have the figures available, I estimate that the average length of stay at the NRH — three months — underestimates the amount of time people in this category of road traffic accident victim will spend in the hospital because traditionally these are the most severe cases. They are the ones who have their lives devastated by an accident.
In breaking down the figures, traditionally the population base reflects the numbers of accidents. In our experience the two highest admission percentages — almost 10% each — are for north and south County Dublin. Next on the list come Limerick, Galway and Kerry. At the bottom are the following three counties — each provides only 0.5% of our admissions — Carlow, Kilkenny and Leitrim. This does not mean, however, that they are the safest. What it indicates is the type of referrals. As I stated, to get into the NRH, one must have a particularly severe injury but one must also compete with others who have suffered a trauma, for example, from a fall in a work accident or an assault, outside a public house in particular — an increasing feature of Irish society. While the numbers indicate a trend of a reducing number of admissions, which may reflect greater road safety levels and better work being done in acute hospitals in saving people's lives, they may also reflect tougher competition from the other victims who sustain a disability. It is not that our beds are empty or that our waiting list is reducing, it remains lengthy. We are concerned that patients have to wait many months for admission to the NRH.
I would like to deal with two further points. When searching for information on rehabilitation and road traffic accidents, I visited the Google site and entered the words "accidents driving and trauma". It highlighted pages of information on solicitors and compensation. What is striking about this is that it reflected some of my current practice. As part of my medical practice, I often have to write medical reports for severe accident victims. I am pleased to do it but I have no choice in the matter as the Medical Council would take me to task if I did not provide such reports.
Victims of accidents give the medical service, through the accident and emergency salvage industry, the neurosurgeon, orthopaedic surgeon and rehabilitation consultant, and team, a lot of work to do. A considerable percentage of our time is taken up with preparing reports for court. Major trauma victims often go the distance but going to court is a haemorrhage of the time of a rehabilitation consultant, who would rather be working at the coalface. I meet many of my colleagues during attendance at court. Perhaps the joint committee will reflect on the thought that reducing the number of accidents on our roads would result in the freeing up of beds in acute hospitals and rehabilitation centres and the time of those consultants who must attend court during the compensation process.
On a positive note, the number admitted to the NRH in the past three years as a result of road traffic accidents has decreased. This has been a consistent trend over the three years but it is the tip of the iceberg. I reflect on the information from Australia that in respect of the number who die on our roads another 11 occupy trauma wards in acute hospitals. A number of people continue to await admission to the National Rehabilitation Hospital for ongoing rehabilitation. The figures we provided do not stand alone in highlighting the disabilities caused by road traffic accidents. They reflect the capacity of the NRH, the waiting list and the competing influences from other referral agencies which deal with patients who have a brain haemorrhage resulting from an aneurysm and a trauma on our streets.
I thank the delegation for attending the meeting. The presentation, which covers a range of matters, is probably reflective of the issue. I commend the delegation for coming and making its case.
I was not aware of the driving pledge. Perhaps Dr. Delargy will send members information on it. I am sure many would like to participate in the scheme. The reputation of Rural Resettlement Ireland is well established. However, the driving pledge is an important new initiative relating to individual responsibility. As the Bishop says, "We are all sinners here". I am, however, concerned about the bigger picture because while we can all take individual responsibility, there is a real problem and it is important we consider other measures apart from the pledge. Perhaps Dr. Delargy or one of his colleagues will comment on what they believe are the key measures needed to reduce the incidence of serious traffic accidents and major spinal injuries and trauma.
Penalty points were to make a real difference, and they did, but they no longer seem to have the same impact they had initially. Will Dr. Delargy comment on that?
I also want to comment on access to services. We are all conscious that excellent work is done at the National Rehabilitation Hospital but, as public representatives, we have encountered difficulty trying to help people gain access to beds there. Our population is growing. I take Dr. Delargy's point that numbers are not necessarily reducing but that access to the hospital may be determining the numbers. Will Dr. Delargy outline future needs with regard to the number of beds needed?
There appears to be a problem with follow-on care when patients leave the hospital. There are insufficient supports in the community. How can we address that problem?
I welcome the group and thank it for its presentation. When Dr. Delargy spoke about high points being the only way to gain entry to the hospital, I thought that this is one area where one would not want high points. The leaving certificate results are due out in one month and all the students are looking for high points. However, people would not want the high points required for admittance to the National Rehabilitation Hospital.
It is interesting that, from 2002 to 2004, patient entry figures fell by 32. This is a large decrease in terms of the type of injury seen at the hospital. However, every weekend — although I remember when it used only be on bank holiday weekends — we hear of terrible tragedies on our roads. Last weekend was no different. Only yesterday, two young people died as a result of an accident that occurred on Friday or Saturday night. Will Dr. Delargy tell us whether he sees more people of a certain age group in the hospital? Are his patients the "boy racers"? Is there a profile for the age group of patients coming into the hospital?
I am glad Mr. Flanagan, director of the transition year driving programme, is present. Is there anything in that programme which brings home to transition year students the danger of speeding? Does the programme show them the terrible traumas on DVD or video? Due to the fact that my children are at the age where they are driving, I am aware that there are insurance companies which reduce premia for young people provided they have a device on their cars that indicates whether they break a certain speed limit. Perhaps we should consider something of that nature for all young drivers between the ages of 17 to 25. Would that help? Is there information available relating to the age profile of those entering National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire?
I thank the delegation for coming before the committee. The previous speakers directed most of their questions to Dr. Delargy and I am inclined to do the same. However, perhaps this is not the appropriate time to do so. I suggest that we put on our work agenda that we should examine the rehabilitation of patients and investigate how the National Rehabilitation Institute works.
What is the procedure a person goes through to take the safe driving pledge? Do they sign it or stand up in public to take it? Apart from carrying it in the car, do they wear something to show they have taken it? I am a little confused as to the procedure involved.
I thank the delegation for coming before the committee. I have visited the National Rehabilitation Hospital and seen the incredible work being done there by Dr. Delargy, Angela McNamara and others.
There is an American saying about something being "As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party". I read the literature on the pledge kindly provided to the committee by the delegation. I thought the people who were likely to drive safely would be those who would sign the pledge. I hate to pour cold water on the idea but I wonder how successful it would be in reducing, for example, the dreadful injuries being treated at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, unless these unfortunates had been ploughed into by people who had not taken the pledge. It is a very honourable idea but I wonder whether it will get very far.
My reaction was similar to that of Senator Henry. What is the profile of those who have taken the pledge? I see that the numbers are high in County Clare. What is the age profile of those who have taken the pledge? Have many young people taken it? Does the delegation have a view on the reason so many young men have become so violent in more ways than just in terms of their driving? It is estimated that 60,000 individuals, mostly young people, practise self-harm and that 11,500 present at accident and emergency departments. Dr. Delargy referred to street violence after closing time, which usually involves young people. Why are young males so violent in so many ways? Does the delegation have a considered view on this?
I apologise for my late arrival but I listened to the contributions on the monitor. I thank the delegation for their attendance. Does the delegation share my view that we have become a very car dependent society — perhaps the most car dependent in Europe — and that this results from poor planning? Does it agree that the more car dependent we become, the more accidents that will occur? As a result of poor planning, people are now driving into Dublin from places such as Arklow and beyond and this is dangerous. We need to deal with the problem of poor planning in the first instance.
An important issue was raised by Senator Feeney. The technology of satellite navigation now exists, which will show, if people agree to its use, whether a vehicle is speeding. A pledge is fine but in my view it needs to be backed up by some form of action, such as ensuring that people who are given reduced rates of insurance obey the speed limits. The use of this technology would help reduce the number of road traffic accidents.
I am concerned about the culture of the car. I have watched Mr. Jeremy Clarkson's show in which he drives cars. I watched his programme the other night and he was driving a car at 120 mph down an autobahn. This is a way of glamorising speed. Anything can happen when driving at that speed and accidents will occur. We must find a way of deglamorising speed because it has become a real problem with regard to young males. I hope the delegation will consider this problem.
I reiterate that satellite navigation is technically possible and could provide a solution. Some people regard it as big brother, in that it monitors what people in a car are doing and can identify the location of the car. This may be the case but the upside is that it may reduce the incidence of speeding.
The pledge is a good idea but I understand the difficulty of making it work. Sometimes the pledge is taken voluntarily and encouraging people to do something voluntarily has more long-standing benefits than using law enforcement, whether through the police or insurance companies, to change their way of thinking and driving habits. I wish Bishop Walsh the best of luck with the pledge but there will be many hurdles to jump before it is achieved. It is difficult to change minds, as we have seen with penalty points. When they were no longer a focus, bad driving habits returned very quickly.
In my experience it can take six to seven months to get someone into the National Rehabilitation Clinic from an acute hospital. Some of the figures Dr. Delargy gave were interesting. Is speed still the main cause of the high velocity injuries Dr. Delargy described or do lack of safety belts and cars coming off the road and rolling over cause them? Would proper law enforcement, with gardaí on the roads where most of these accidents occur, rather than where drivers speed, make a significant difference?
We need to consider some simple practical points if we are to effect any change. It is pointless to talk about barriers on the motorways and the sides of the roads because they will take so long and be so expensive to erect that it simply will not happen. In the short term gardaí could be placed on roads where accidents are most likely to happen and we could support that measure.
Dr. Delargy said the number of people suffering from injuries admitted to the National Rehabilitation Centre has fallen. Is that because they cannot get in owing to the increase in violent assaults? How significant is the issue of violent assaults? I have noticed a change in the past decade in that perpetrators of an assault pulverise a person and sometimes the two parties do not know one another. The incident might be a random assault on the street.
There is also the phenomenon of kicking people severely in the head. The perpetrator may feel the victim will not be able to identify him or her because of the resulting amnesia. This seems to be becoming more prevalent but that may be because we hear more about such attacks whereas Dr. Delargy has the stark facts and figures to reveal the significance of these assaults.
Mr. John Flanagan
The death toll on Irish roads continues to spiral upwards. Already this year more than 180 people have died and many more were injured. Penalty points are not the solution. They are a deterrent but deterrents never solve any problem. We need to get to the heart of the problem.
The death toll will continue to spiral upwards until we introduce mandatory driver training. More emphasis must be placed on road safety education, beginning in secondary schools where young people could be taught the attitudes and behaviour of safe driving. This could be done in the classroom where experienced driving instructors like me would be in charge. I do this very successfully in many schools in Kerry.
Between 60,000 and 70,000 students sat the Leaving Certificate this year but 1,000 of them will not reach the age of 25 because they will be killed on Irish roads. Owing to inexperience and lack of training young drivers become involved in high-risk driving. We were all young once but there was little traffic when I was young. Now there is a great deal of traffic. Young drivers get a buzz from driving but they do not have experience or much training and so become involved in high-risk driving, mainly speeding, overtaking, right-hand turns and handbrake turns. This is suicidal driving which leads to death or serious injury.
Penalty points will not prevent such high-risk driving. Young people either do not know what penalty points are or, if they do, pay no heed to them. They simply want to see how fast their cars can go. If such dangers were discussed and analysed in a classroom environment before young people began driving, we would see a reduction in road fatalities. With Jim Connolly's permission, which he has already given me, I intend to use the safe driving pledge in my programme for transition year students. Transition year is the perfect time for young people to take such a pledge. In time, I believe my programme will result in a significant reduction in road fatalities. My hope and wish is that it will be taken on board by some Government agency which will introduce it to second level schools nationwide.
Dr. Delargy has given us an excellent presentation and many questions have been posed. I will not talk about the pledge just yet, but the other side of it is the training of driving instructors and the standards applied to them. I will ask Patricia Lynch, who is involved in the Driving Standards Agency Ireland, to make a presentation on that aspect, which is crucial.
I am from Driving Standards Agency Ireland, which was formed to educate driving instructors to an acceptable standard. It is ISO-approved, and has developed workbooks and colour files for training driver instructors. These workbooks and refresher courses are for novice and experienced instructors. Through the Association of Certified Driving Instructors, ACDI, we have also imparted necessary information to the Department of Transport regarding the working group on the driving instructors register. All our driving instructors are trained and assessed by ACDI — the awarding body — and by SAM, the Society of Advanced Motorists.
More time should be spent with young drivers and new drivers, not merely getting them through their tests but afterwards on the broader area of driving, dealing with night driving, wet and dry roads, heavy traffic, motorway driving, merging and de-merging. More emphasis should be put on road safety education, beginning, as John Flanagan said, in schools, where young people can be taught correct driving and driving behaviour.
As Mr. Flanagan said earlier, young people become involved in risk driving, speeding and so on because of lack of experience. The DSAI believes that if these dangers were discussed with the drivers before they started driving, a substantial reduction in road fatalities would result. As Mr. Flanagan said, young people get a buzz from driving, so why not get them off to the right start? We support the safe driving pledge and hope that many more drivers will sign up, which it is hoped will make roads safer. If there were no drink-driving or speeding and seat belts were used more, that would help.
There have been questions about the pledge, and whether it will be efficient or have an effect. Who knows? Each of us gets only one opportunity in this life — because one life is all we have — to make whatever contribution we can. It is on that basis that the pledge has been established. It is a contribution, but certainly not a technological or scientific answer. For its efficacy it will not depend on satellite navigation or anything else. It appeals to the person putting his or her honour on the line. I can only speak from personal experience, like all the other self-confessed sinners present, of whom I am certainly one. In 1997, when I made a public pledge, it was in response to criticism of a high profile person who had broken the speed limit. I thought that such people should be setting a good, rather than a bad, example. As an ordinary citizen, I took the pledge, which was published in The Irish Times, and to be honest I do not think that anyone paid any heed to it.
In the intervening years, however, it changed me. It definitely changed my driving standards, regardless of whether I was driving at night or during the day. I give my thanks to God because I am now a grandfather; I have been lucky and I am still alive. It changed me in that I became guilty about driving. I am very happy to feel that guilt because I am alive to tell the tale. I often leave Loop Head at 6 a.m. and never see the police until I reach Dublin. However, I am as compliant at that time as I would be in the middle of the day because I feel guilty about it. I do not mind that; it is a guilt complex with which I am happy.
Months of background work went into the safe driving pledge. There was consultation with the National Safety Council and everyone who might be involved. The original pledge has the universal endorsement of all parties. The following is the text of the pledge:
I publicly pledge to drive in a safe manner consistent with the universal concern for the safety of all road users. In particular, I pledge never to drink and drive, to observe speed limits and to ensure that safety belts are worn in my car.
That is all that it consists of. The one question or hesitation that has been raised by people is that it is not a pledge never to drink but never to drink and drive. The National Safety Council states in our literature that there is no safe level of alcohol in the blood for driving. One cannot, therefore, drink and drive and that is why it is included in the pledge.
Some people might hesitate because they would really have to change their lifestyles if they took that pledge. They would not be able to have a glass of wine at dinner or stay just under the limit. If they do those things, they should not take the pledge. That is probably the one thing about which people must think. The issue is not the €20, which is nothing. It is a great deal to a charity but nothing to an individual. It is not that but the thinking that one must change one's habits. That is what we ask — no more and no less. We do not have the answers to all the other matters mentioned here. This is a sincere effort by people involved only in humanitarian work and is totally non-profit. That is my best explanation of the pledge and I ask the Chairman to allow Dr. Delargy to speak.
We will allow the witness to come back in. I will take the points being made by many members about the pledge's value. Perhaps we are getting the easy targets to sign up to it. The message coming from the committee has been that we must see how we might move that a little further forward and perhaps tighten it up. Questions were asked by Senator Feeney and other members regarding how we might bring some sort of feeling of responsibility to people other than simply young drivers.
The figures given by Mr. Flanagan startled us all. The cold prospect of 1,000 young people being maimed or injured must have that effect. I wonder about the value of this committee. We are trying to work out what we might do to assist the witnesses rather than simply listen to their presentation today and move matters on from there. The insurance companies could have a role to play, particularly if there were some scientific or technological way of assessing speed and so on. We must recognise that it is a substantial problem to tackle. Perhaps the next step that the witnesses should take is to talk to the insurance companies and seek a joint platform. Those proposals could come before the committee at that point. Reference was made to the possibility of some Government agency taking an interest in the issue. I do not see that happening until we have some firm commitments. If the insurance companies recognise the enormous difficulty presented by careless young drivers with alcohol and if they can produce a policy proposal that might target this group and encourage them not to drink, by way of reduced cost cover, the committee could then see whether that might be brought forward as a policy proposal to the Department of Health and Children.
I might ask Dr. Delargy to respond at this point to the main issues raised.
Dr. Delargy
I am somewhat apprehensive about appearing to hijack such an important issue as the pledge. Perhaps I should preface anything further I have to say on the other questions by pointing out that I consider the pledge to be a good idea. That is essentially why I am here today. It could have an effect as regards the numbers of people involved in accidents. I wonder about a follow-on in the insurance area in terms of an incentivisation component. It seems to me that non-smokers who are seeking health insurance make a "pledge" to the effect that they do not smoke. There are no smoke police checking whether they actually are smokers. The idea of the pledge of good driving could also be introduced without monitoring in the same way as the non-smoker is not monitored to prove that he or she does not smoke. Therefore there is an incentivisation aspect, whereby the person who takes the safe driving pledge would be favourably looked on by the insurance companies. We all like that. There is a difficult challenge to be addressed in taking the pledge, namely not to drink alcohol. I respect Bishop Walsh and everyone else who has taken it but I must admit that I have not, as yet.
In terms of people coming in to the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH, single vehicle young male drivers from a rural background involved in early morning accidents are over-represented. I cannot give the committee the exact figures, but it is too common for us to see the accident details "rural, early morning, with no other vehicle involved". That pattern frequency seems to provide for a large percentage of our admissions. As regards NRH admissions for road traffic accidents, the fifth, sixth and seventh places in terms of ranking, with the order of 20 admissions each over the three-year period are counties Kerry, Louth and Wicklow. That is not surprising to us. Over the years we have seen many victims from County Louth in particular, where there is what we perceive as a particularly fast road. In population terms, County Louth seems to be over-represented compared to County Cork, which is another few points down the ranking system. I must qualify that by saying this could reflect referral policies, but there is an issue here as regards small counties and it seems reasonable that County Leitrim should be bottom of the list in terms of population. It is a small county, with a low population, and so fewer people should be admitted to the NRH from there. However, it seems out of place that a smallish county such as County Louth should be in the top rank, which may reflect a fast road that is not safe. Looking at accident black spots is another way of trying to focus Garda attention because the gardaí cannot be everywhere.
In terms of Deputy McManus's issue, as reflected in Deputy Twomey's questions as well, about the number of beds and how patients are admitted, a target for Ireland based on UK statistics is 60 beds for rehabilitation per million of the population. It works out at 360 for a population of approximately 4 million. We have 120 and are trying to double our numbers at the NRH. However, that would still leave us with a shortfall. We need to treble the number of beds for rehabilitation based on the estimates of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine.
With regard to speed, it is our perception that the force of trauma reflects the extent of the damage. As a counterbalance, it is also our perception that seat-belts, airbags and car design are moving the other way to allow us to drive faster more safely, yet still crash. Car design helps in accidents, through seat belts and other safety equipment. The national car test is a good example by having safe cars on the road.
I look at the pledge as a way of increasing the number of safe drivers. Mr. Flanagan's work in educating younger people is also good. Young people are particularly responsible in designating a driver when going out for the night. People of my age are more hardened in their bad habits and less inclined to leave the car at home or designate a driver. The idea that we can teach young people to drive safely is valid and I strongly support it.
Violence is a separate issue. Novel injuries occur, such as a trauma caused by a group of people kicking someone in the head. We see a small number of such people coming through and they are having an impact. Their injuries seem to be particularly difficult because the head trauma produces very severe injuries around the facial area; it affects breathing with the result that the patient ends up with oxygen deprivation and anoxic brain damage. A bang on the head can damage one part of a person's brain but if the person is starved of oxygen, the whole brain suffers and the extent of the damage is much more grave. By interfering with the nasal passages and the mouth in a head kicking trauma, a person can end up with a very severe injury. Those who come through tend to be at the top end of the spectrum of disability because they have global brain damage resulting from the obstruction of their airways. It is a nasty business.
One of the issues about which we spoke before we came in was that of fatigue. We live in a society in which we pressurise ourselves to drive long distances. We wondered about how we might induce ourselves to stop at the appropriate time when we feel fatigue. I often wonder about single vehicle accidents in the early hours of the morning. One immediately thinks of alcohol but one could equally think of someone rushing to get home after an extremely long day and not taking the appropriate fatigue measures such as pulling over and having a five or ten-minute rest.
I agree with Dr. Delargy. There is an increasing incidence of young people having two jobs such as working in a night club until 3 a.m. and then getting up in the morning and driving 20 miles to work. There was a terrible tragedy in my area a few months ago in which there was no alcohol involved. What is the age profile of accident victims?
Dr. Delargy
Traditionally, the figures for brain and spinal cord injuries peak in the 20 to 30 age group. It starts from the period when young people learn to drive. Throughout the world most of those suffering from brain and spinal injuries are aged between their late teens and approximately 30 years, although there tends to be another peak among the very elderly.
Souped-up cars with young drivers put the fear of God in me. When I meet them on the road, I immediately slow down and feel I want to pull in. I met such a driver the other night and thought to myself it was nearly as bad as meeting a driver who was drunk or totally out of it on drugs. That is how we should describe speeders — as people out of control. While they may not have taken drugs or alcohol, they are out of control on the buzz they get from speed.
Is the time of the accident relevant to those resulting from fatigue? For example, people driving home from work in the evening would be more tired than in the morning.
On another matter, my constituents complain about youngsters racing cars at 3 a.m. along country roads. They are living in terror. I recently heard of a case where a ten-acre field had been taken over at 3 a.m. and youngsters had begun racing around it. Is this behaviour reflected in accidents?
I find the debate interesting and worthwhile. The purpose of the pledge is worthy but hard for many to take, although I am aware a bishop is present. Many do not like taking pledges they cannot honour. The bishop might be able to give complete freedom to go to him for forgiveness but, to be fair, people take pledges seriously, as they should. With the best will in the world — it could happen to a bishop — one might take a glass of wine. The most honourable people will not take the pledge because at some stage, somewhere, they might take the smallest glass of wine. The delegation should bear this in mind as they keep up the good work. It is much easier for pioneers to take the pledge than for non-pioneers.
There has been a great number of motorcycle accidents. I would never give money to family members for a motorcycle. I would put sand in the petrol tank if they wished to drive a motorcycle. Motorcycles are the most dangerous and lethal weapons on the road. An examination by the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business suggested that, unfortunately, motorcycle accidents cost insurance companies nothing — not one shilling. The companies arrange to clean up the scene of the accident but, otherwise, no compensation is paid to the families involved, although the situation is different in the case of a car crash.
There have been too many accidents, particularly in the morning hours. Fatigue is one factor but there are other suspicions. Every weekend one hears of horror crashes involving a single driver hitting a wall in the middle of the night, which is very traumatic for the families involved. The tragedy is unreal.
I am grateful for the presence of the delegation and Mr. Connolly, who is doing his bit. If we could save one life, it would be a marvellous achievement. I am sure Mr. Connolly has saved many by his concentration on this issue, for which I thank him. I also commend the National Rehabilitation Hospital for its great work.
Bishop Walsh
There is one simple practical measure to take. I drive a Toyota Avensis. I always wear a safety belt, simply because I cannot stand the safety noise caused by driving without one. Surely it could be made mandatory for every new car to be adjusted in this way, which would link to the new technology mentioned by Deputy Gormley.
I thank the delegation for coming before the joint committee. We wish we could be more positive and definite with it but we can state the committee supports the pledge and is available to hear further submissions. I hope the publicity generated by this meeting may prompt the insurance companies to work together with the committee and Rural Resettlement Ireland. I take the point that we should encourage Government agencies to recognise that there is an issue to be dealt with, which is clear from the figures quoted. We endorse and support the campaign and are available to hear further submissions if the delegation believes there is something more specific and definite we could do. Perhaps our guests would inform the committee as to whether there is a more specific and definite matter on which it could follow up.
I thank the Chairman for his kind words. Senator Henry said that only safe drivers would take the pledge and that these people are already safe. There are 1.5 million drivers in Ireland, the vast majority of whom must be safe or we would all be in bits. The pledge is based on people showing good example and this is evident throughout our literature. If one is behind a car in traffic and one sees the distinctive and attractive little sticker, one will know that the person has declared his or her good intentions. This might set a good example for others. If only safe drivers take the pledge initially, it will still promote safe driving.
Will the sticker only appear on cars or will it be possible, as suggested by Deputy Devins, to wear it as a badge?
No. There is no plan for a badge. Everybody will get a little pack, for which they will pay €20.
A badge is a good suggestion.
It might be. That was the original plan but the car sticker is available at this time. However, we have produced a free magazine devoted to safe driving. This will highlight pledge leaders and those who are involved. It will also provide all of the information we have gleaned on safe driving. There is a new movement towards personal responsibility and we will reflect this in any way we can within a limited budget. The Bank of Ireland has lent its support to the magazine.
Perhaps one might see such stickers on the back of State cars by the next general election and different letters will need to be written.
(Interruptions).
I thank our guests for coming today. We were pleased to hear their presentation. They should feel free to contact us regarding anything they think should be made public.
The joint committee adjourned at 11.37 a.m. until 10.30 a.m. Wednesday, 13 July 2005.