Non-national roads ‘have not kept pace with demands’

THE standard of non-national Irish roads came under fire from one of Australia’s leading road safety experts yesterday.

Nial Finegan, who is responsible for road safety in the Australian state of Victoria, said there was a huge difference in standards between new motorways and inter-urban routes and older country roads.

Mr Finegan, who comes originally from Dublin, said many non-national roads were no longer capable of coping with the growing volume of traffic.

“Local roads have not kept pace with the demand for them,” he said.

Mr Finegan told the National Roads Authority conference on road safety yesterday that four-in-10 road deaths in Victoria were the result of collisions with roadside hazards. However, he said a programme for tackling such run-off-road crashes by using more safety barriers and improved road signage were proving very successful.

Mr Finegan said an integrated road safety programme entitled Arrive Alive had prevented an estimated 360 road deaths each year.

He also recommended a graduated licensing system for young learner drivers which will shortly be expanded in Victoria. Under the scheme, all new drivers have to undergo 120 hours of supervised driving before they are given their first licence.

They are subsequently given a P1 licence, which places a number of restrictions on the driver, including a zero alcohol limit, a ban on mobile phones, night-time curfews and a prohibition on having passengers of a similar age in the car.

While he acknowledged that the Victoria model was “very regimented”, Mr Finegan said motorists modified their driving behaviour as they knew they ran the risk of losing their licence immediately if caught for a traffic offence.

Meanwhile, Brian Farrell of the National Safety Council called for compulsory road safety education to be introduced in all primary and secondary schools.

A total of 399 people died on roads here last year.