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Road Safety Statistics

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 February 2013

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Ceisteanna (107)

Noel Harrington

Ceist:

107. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a breakdown of road fatalities in 2012; if he will provide comparative figures for each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8394/13]

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Freagraí ó Béal (12 píosaí cainte)

This question relates to road fatalities in recent years. The statutory responsibility for the collection and analysis of structured information on road traffic collisions lies with the Road Safety Authority. That analysis is published annually in the authority's facts book, Road Collision Facts. While 2012 figures are still being analysed, I understand the analysis for 2011 is being finalised and will be available shortly. In the interim, the most recently published edition of Road Collision Facts is in respect of 2010 and is available on the authority's website www.rsa.ie. This publication also provides details on collisions in previous years.

Since 2007, there has been a considerable reduction in road fatalities. In 2012, we had the lowest annual deaths on record at 162. This compared with 186 in 2011, 212 in 2010, 238 in 2009, 279 in 2008 and 338 in 2007. The figure for 2002 was 376. However, while there has been considerable progress over the past five years, we cannot be complacent. Thirty-one lives have been lost this year on the roads, an increase of 13 from the same period last year. I have discussed these recent events with the Road Safety Authority and it is too early in the year to detect any definite trends. We will continue to monitor the position closely and it is important that all road users take care.

The Road Safety Authority is finalising a new road safety strategy for the period from 2013 to 2020, which, subject to Government approval, I intend to launch formally next month. The aim of the strategy, as with all previous strategies, will be to save lives and prevent injuries by reducing the number and severity of collisions on our roads.

I congratulate the Road Safety Authority, the Garda Síochána, the Department, road users and everyone else involved in achieving a substantial improvement in the figures relating to road traffic fatalities in recent years. While one death on the roads is a death too many, we are on the right track. I am concerned, however, about what appears to be a spike in road traffic fatalities so far this year. This emerging trend should serve as a wake-up call for those involved with the road safety strategy and, in that regard, I welcome the Minister's statement that it is proposed to implement a new strategy.

When does the Minister expect the Road Safety Authority to publish a breakdown of the figures on road deaths for 2011 and 2012? Could new software or systems be introduced to speed up the publication of figures on road traffic collisions and fatalities, especially the latter? I presume the same template is used to present the figures every year. As far as I could ascertain from the 2010 figures, they do not include information on cases involving driver fatigue. It should be possible to extract figures on the distance road users have travelled prior to a collision. While this information may not be available in all cases, it would be helpful to have such figures included in the annual reports of the Road Safety Authority as they would indicate the extent to which driver fatigue was a factor in accidents.

I note from the 2010 figures that the majority of accidents involving fatalities occurred in dry conditions and on straight stretches of road. This is an extraordinary statistic. Fatigue is a major issue.

I thank the Deputy for his comments. This year's figures to date are a cause for great concern, in that the number of road fatalities has increased significantly. However, it is important that we not read too much into this increase. When I first took up office in March 2011, the first quarter indicated an increase in road fatalities. By the end of the year, though, 2011 had become the safest year on record. It is important that we not read too much into monthly or quarterly statistics.

We need good road behaviour and enforcement. The latter is important but difficult, given the reducing Garda numbers. We will have the detailed breakdown of the 2011 figures soon, although those for 2012 might take a further year. Sometimes, this process gets held up because of coroners' cases. For example, suicides in cars can be reclassified. It can take time to analyse the statistics.

To answer Deputy Harrington's valid question on fatigue, I do not know. I will undertake to seek a reply for him from the Road Safety Authority, RSA. I would also like to know the answer. Fatigue may be difficult to prove after the fact, which is not necessarily the case with other causes.

I seek Members' co-operation, as many wish to ask questions.

I thank the Minister. If we are to tackle the safety figures, we need to know the reasons. Fatigue is one such reason, but another reason for single vehicle accidents is linked to a different strategy, namely, our suicide strategy. That there may be a link is regrettable. That the evidence is only anecdotal is a pity. The RSA's figures make no reference to this link. Perhaps something could be done about this.

When discussing these issues with the RSA, it points to enforcement, education and engineering. All over the country, people are driven berserk when they turn off national primary roads onto tertiary roads on which grass is growing up through the middle and where the first thing they see are poles bearing 80 km/h signs. The RSA will point out that this is not the desired speed, but the maximum allowable speed. However, major problems are being caused because roads are being assigned speed limits for which they are unfit. Local authorities have the option of examining such limits, but it is a cumbersome process, is taking too long and is doing road users a disservice. Is there a way to shorten the process?

Deputy Harrington raised a point. Aside from road fatalities, could the categories of injury be broken down? A road accident that sees no fatalities can still cause destruction, in that people can be left paralysed or seriously injured. If the RSA, in conjunction with the hospitals, including the National Rehabilitation Hospital, could be encouraged to produce the relevant figures, it would act as a stimulus for the road safety programme.

Of fatal collisions in 2012, seven drivers were on learner permits. In total, 3,237 drivers with learner permits were involved in one form of collision or another in 2012. This is an important element to be addressed and I would appreciate the Minister's opinions on it.

Is the Minister comfortable with the road safety information being furnished by the GoSafe company, a private operator that records many speed violations? Its information is dependent on the performance of its drivers and whether its machines are working properly and are at the right angles. We have been approached by a number of its drivers who are unhappy with their work practices and conditions. Aside from their employer's poor treatment of them, they are also concerned that recordings are sometimes being used even after they have told the company that the recordings are not fit for purpose. When they check to see whether the recordings have been used, they find that they have been thrown into the mix even though the machines were not working properly on the days in question. People are being caught for speeding despite this.

The control and curtailment of speeding is critical in dealing with road safety and reducing collisions. Against the backdrop of the fact that the Minister has allowed the function to be outsourced currently to the GoSafe operation, what safeguards does the Department have in place? Does he consider a role for the Road Safety Authority in terms of liaising with GoSafe? The validity of the information is absolutely dependent on the human input of the driver who sets up the machine. We are aware that the conditions in which the workers operate are in breach of serious amounts of legislation in terms of health and safety and the working time Act, which undermines the validity of the information they collect. Will the Minister consider having someone in his Department link in with the operation to monitor it? I accept it is under the control of the Garda to an extent but there must be an independent role for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. Speeding and ticket fixing would have an impact on the control of speeding. An investigation is currently under way by the Department of Justice and Equality. Has the Minister had any input or received any feedback on it?

I echo the sentiments of my colleague, Deputy Harrington, on the tremendous work in reducing road fatalities, in particular on the part of the RSA, An Garda Síochána, the Department and local authorities.

I emphasise the importance of the continuation of the education and training of young drivers in particular and those who will soon learn to drive. I have seen and taken part in the road safety campaign for secondary schools that has taken place in The Helix on a number of occasions. It is a tremendous initiative, one that if we continue and bolster and perhaps make part of the syllabus within secondary schools would be very much welcomed in terms of addressing the ongoing battle to reduce road fatalities.

Will the Minister liaise with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, on the road safety strategy? It is clear there will be a reduction in Garda numbers and speed checks are carried out by the Garda in addition to those that are done privately. Will the traffic corps be maintained at its current level?

I carried out an analysis on the number of speed cameras and discovered that the one hot-spot in the country in which one would be more likely to get penalty points for speeding was between the Red Cow roundabout and the Kildare county boundary where the road, which is segregated, has three lanes. Perhaps the distribution of cameras could be examined as well.

A lot of questions have been asked and I will try to respond to as many as I can. A number of them are for the Minister for Justice and Equality and I do not wish to answer questions on his behalf. I will be liaising with the Minister for Justice and Equality on the road safety strategy, which will be signed off by the whole Government, not just my Department. We have a Cabinet sub-committee on road safety which includes the Garda and the Minister for Justice and Equality. I understand that it is their intention to maintain the traffic corps at a similar level to the situation currently. The fact that there will be fewer gardaí in stations and more out in cars will assist with that.

In response to Deputy Clare Daly’s question, I have no news on the report on the ticket fixing or squaring scandal but I look forward to seeing the report. It is something in which I have a great interest. My understanding is that the GoSafe vans are contacted by the Garda. That is the first I have heard of the issues raised by the Deputy. I have not heard of such complaints from staff but I will ask the RSA to examine the situation and see whether issues arise in terms of GoSafe vans. It is important that people trust the system and that it has integrity. I will undertake to ask the RSA to examine the issue.

In response to Deputy O’Donovan’s question on the category of injuries, it is intended to do that. I have appointed to the board of the RSA the head consultant in the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. The situation is complicated because even in medicine there is not a clear classification of injuries but it is something we want to include in the new strategy, in order that it is not just about fatalities but about life-changing injuries and how they impact on people.

We are doing a speed limit review at the moment. I have the draft of it. One of its recommendations speaks to what the Deputy said and suggests that the 80 km/h speed limit signs on tertiary roads and boreens effectively act as a target and not as a limit. The suggestion being made is that we remove them altogether or replace them with the previous delimiter signs which the Deputy may recall with the white circle and the grey stripe through it. I will consult with the Oireachtas committee on the report but I personally think it would probably be the right thing to do on the basis that people are treating the limit as a target rather than as a speed limit. It would be better if the signs were not there or if we had a delimiter sign instead.

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