IF the Government is serious about reducing the appalling carnage on our roads, it should take on board the no-nonsense Australian strategy, outlined at an international conference yesterday, which has prevented hundreds of deaths.

When the Government announced the break up of Aer Rianta in 2003, then Transport Minister Seamus Brennan promised the airport authorities in Shannon and Cork would start independent operations debt-free.

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy was killed on Saturday when he was accidentally knocked down by his mother in a tragic incident in the driveway of their family home.

The Enterprise and Small Business Committee of the Oireachtas has called on the Government to hold a constitutional referendum to introduce random testing of motorists for substance abuse.

SADLY and tragically, we have closed out 2005 with the grim toll of 399 road fatalities.

I REGRET the resignation of Eddie Shaw as chairman of the National Safety Council.

SPIRALLING road carnage in the Republic is in stark contrast to the latest statistics from Northern Ireland, which reflect the lowest death toll there in over half a century.

IRELAND is bucking European trends in terms of falling road fatalities, while the North’s road deaths toll fell to its lowest figure in 50 years.

The former chairman of the National Safety Council, Eddie Shaw has blamed the Minister for Transport for bringing about his resignation last November.

FORMER chairman of the National Safety Council, Eddie Shaw, has blamed comments made by Transport Minster Martin Cullen as one of the main reasons for his shock resignation several weeks ago.

EDDIE SHAW was clearly very disillusioned with politicians when he decided to step down in November, some six weeks before the end of his term as Chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC).

THE Government’s record on road safety came under fire last night after figures showed rising numbers of deaths on the roads.

THE new Road Safety Authority will simply be “rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic” unless the group is given the power and resources to make an impact, a safety expert has warned.

The resignation of the chairman of the National Safety Council represented “a damning vote of no confidence” in the Minister of Transport, Martin Cullen, it was claimed today.

Eddie Shaw has resigned as head of the National Safety Council.

HIGHLY profitable motor insurance companies could do “a hell of a lot more” to lower premiums for drivers, Transport Minister Martin Cullen has said.

THE number of people killed on Irish roads will increase this year at a time when most other EU states are seeing a sharp drop in road traffic fatalities.

FED-UP insurers are refusing to increase their contributions to the National Safety Council, saying the Government is not taking road safety seriously.

TWO-HUNDRED people will die unnecessarily this year because of the Government’s failure to tackle road safety problems effectively, the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) has said.

Half the deaths on Ireland’s roads this year could have been prevented if the Government had implemented a promised road safety strategy, campaigners said today.

THE National Safety Council has branded the Government’s road safety strategy as “a spectacular failure” similar to other political controversies such as electronic voting, PPARS and decentralisation.

IRELAND has emerged with the worst road safety record in western Europe last year, raising serious questions over the effectiveness of the Government’s strategy to reduce deaths on Irish roads.

THE opinion of John Mallon on road crashes (Irish Examiner letters, August 16) is not supported by available facts. Very few motor vehicle crashes are accidents, events without apparent cause.

THE Department of Transport has challenged media reports which suggested it wanted to abolish the National Safety Council (NSC) — the Government agency with responsibility for reducing the number of deaths on Irish roads.

THE sole Irish provider of motorcycle cover has threatened to leave the market if the Government fails to introduce compulsory basic training for bikers.

Motorcyclists are six times more likely to be killed on our roads than other drivers.

MORE THAN one million speeding motorists will be detected each year by a privatised speed camera operation expected to begin within the next 12 months.

THE National Safety Council (NSC) yesterday welcomed the Government’s long-awaited plan to privatise speed cameras in a bid to cut road deaths.

THE National Safety Council has blamed serious under-funding for the low priority given to road safety education in Irish schools, as highlighted in a major new international study.

TWO in five motorists have admitted to drink-driving in the past 12 months, according to a report released yesterday.

THE number of people killed in road accidents in the past week is 11, the National Safety Council said yesterday.

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell has announced that the Traffic Corps is to be doubled to some 1,100 gardaí to stop the carnage on our roads.

THE number of gardaí working in the Traffic Corps is to be doubled to 1,100 in a bid to stop the carnage on the roads, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said last night.

Health, transport and childcare will dominate the agenda this weekend as 600 Progressive Democrats delegates gather in Cork for their annual conference.

NATIONAL Safety Council (NSC) chairman Eddie Shaw yesterday claimed lack of political will is contributing to the surge in fatal road smashes.

Children need to take control of their own road safety and not rely on adults, according to a new cross border road safety campaign launched today.

FURTHER legal challenges to the use of garda speed guns are expected following concerns about legislation intended to plug a loophole that has cast doubt on many speeding prosecutions.

DRINK-DRIVERS are playing Russian roulette with their own lives and the lives of others, it was claimed yesterday.

PICTURE the scene tonight as the roads of Ireland become killing fields with hundreds of drunk drivers setting out from pubs and clubs around the country, transforming the family car into a lethal weapon.

Drink-drivers are playing Russian roulette with their own lives and the lives of others, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen warned at the launch of the Christmas drink-driving blitz.

ROAD fatalities in Ireland are rising at a faster rate than anywhere else in western Europe at a time when many other EU states are recording a decline in road traffic deaths.