Safety warning as thrifty motorists keep old vehicles

THE Road Safety Authority (RSA) has expressed concern that the poor standard of some Irish roads and the rising number of older vehicles could reverse recent reductions in the annual number of road deaths.

RSA chief executive Noel Brett said yesterday there were growing fears that poor road design and other features such as signage and speed limits were creating avoidable road safety issues.

He also questioned the roadworthiness of Ireland’s ageing car fleet as the recent sharp decline in new car sales showed motorists were no longer replacing vehicles as regularly as before.

He warned that the failure to properly maintain ageing vehicles could have a serious impact on road safety, while there was also a risk that motorists suffering financial hardship may avoid renewing car insurance and their national car test.

In 2007 — the latest year for which official figures are available — half of all licensed vehicles were more than six years old, representing more than 900,000 cars, while more than 27,000 vehicles were first registered over 25 years ago.

According to the AA, 313,000 vehicles are more than 10 years old, representing 16.5% of private cars.

Mr Brett said he would be in favour of any plan which would improve the quality of the national fleet such as the proposed new scrappage scheme proposed by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.

He also expressed concern about the poor standard of many roads around the country, pointing out that 11 motorists died in 2007 after colliding with a lamppost or telegraph pole.

The RSA head claimed that Garda figures, which indicated road conditions were a contributory factor in 3% of fatal road collisions, were probably “an under-estimate”.

Addressing a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Mr Brett remarked: “In the current economic climate, we face challenges in ensuring that the roadworthiness and quality of the national vehicle fleet does not deteriorate and that the built infrastructure is maintained.”

However, Mr Brett stressed that the RSA had no role in addressing issues relating to road design, engineering, speed limits, road signage and maintenance as they were the responsibility of the National Roads Authority and local authorities.

Although Mr Brett welcomed the fact that the 278 road fatalities in Ireland last year was the lowest on record, he warned any complacency at this stage could see the annual number of road deaths increase again.

“You are now half as likely to be killed or seriously injured on Irish roads than in 1997 despite large increases in population and the number of vehicles,” said Mr Brett.

However he added: “The greatest risk that we now face is complacency both from the road-using public and agencies. There is a plateau effect following major interventions and we must all redouble our effort to consolidate the reductions made in fatalities in the past three years.”

Meanwhile, the AA called on the Government to improve the system for scrapping end-of-life vehicles to ensure that “cheap old bangers” were taken off the roads and not resold.

“We’re still hearing plenty of stories about cars being flogged for a couple of hundred euro or less,” said AA spokesman Conor Faughnan. “We know that too often the car will be used essentially for joyriding by youngsters with potentially fatal results.”

He also pointed out that such vehicles were also creating environmental problems as they were frequently burnt out or dumped in housing estates or on mountainsides.