Road deaths - Our young drivers lack basic skills

WHAT makes young Irish people so dramatically different to their European counterparts?

The answer is chillingly evident in the latest batch of EU-wide statistics showing that when it comes to car deaths, Ireland’s young people are top of the league.

That is a most regrettable distinction but one that thousands of grieving families have to live with every day and which society at large must be prepared to face if we are to have any hope of tackling this country’s crisis of road carnage.

According to statistics gathered across 27 member states of the EU, over one-third of those killed on this country’s roads are under 25.

Up to yesterday, 114 people died in crashes so far this year. And the depressing outlook is that more people are likely to die in road accidents this weekend and the grisly pictures of wrecked cars will be carried by the media.

Statistically, the likelihood is that one-in-three of those fatalities will be young people. And the chances are that a share of the other fatalities will be caused by young drivers.

Despite a welcome garda clamp down on the behaviour of drivers up and down the country, speeding or drink driving continue to be major problems on our roads.

While some measure of consolation can be taken from the welcome decrease in road deaths over the past 10 years, we are still above the European average and the figures show that 368 people died in collisions on our roads last year.

For the families, loved ones and friends of those whose lives were lost in such an unnecessary and avoidable manner, this was 368 deaths too many.

But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the EU analysis is that when it comes to young people, Ireland boasts Europe’s worst record for road deaths.

The report showed, for instance, that 38% of all those killed in crashes are under 25, while 30% are between 18 and 25.

Behind the cold columns of statistics are found horror stories of young drivers way above the speed limit, often after drinking, or simply lacking the basic skills which are essential behind the wheel of modern cars which are fast and powerful.

Unfortunately, successive governments are to blame for a scenario where thousands of drivers have literally been let loose on the roads in a state of blissful ignorance as far as the rules of the road are concerned. Lacking knowledge and basic skills, they have a frightening capacity to turn a car into a lethal weapon.

Tellingly, the report also shows that three out of every four people killed on the EU’s roads in 2005 were men. The obvious implication of this alarming statistic is that male drivers assume a macho persona and become ‘boy-racers’ when they sit behind the wheel of a car.

According to another damning report, Ireland also falls behind when it comes to seat belt usage.

Only 86% of drivers and front seat passengers here wear seat belts. This compares to 97% of French drivers.

But the situation is even worse in the back seat where Ireland has one of the worst records in Europe, with only 46% of passengers wearing their belts.

There is a growing perception that costly advertisements designed to improve driver behaviour are far less effective than the form of robust policing now being carried out by the gardaí resulting in a 34% increase in drink driving arrests in the first quarter of this year.

Coinciding with the first European Road Safety Day, the damning EU report is a salutary message Ireland cannot afford to ignore.