It’s time to get tough on souped-up cars

I AM delighted the number of deaths on Irish roads is significantly down on the same period for last year. However, although this is welcome news, I fear this trend is unlikely to continue.

A situation has now been allowed to develop where a generation of 16- and 17-year-old children are allowed to live out their fantasies of performing feats of speed and bravery in souped-up cars on public roads. I refer, of course, to so-called ‘boy racers’.

Consider the following:

— It is not illegal in Ireland to calibrate or adjust the engine of a car, even when the sole purpose of such adjustments is to enable the car to speed beyond its original capacity;

— It is not illegal in Ireland to have an inappropriately-sized exhaust pipe on a car, for the sole purpose of enhancing speed and noise;

— It is not illegal in Ireland to have noise of any level emanating from a car. I understand we are the only country in the EU without regulation on permitted decibel levels from cars.

Road death figures tend towards young, inexperienced drivers. Surely it would make more sense to have young drivers in slower than normal cars?

Yet the problem does not lie solely with speeding on open roads. Daily, I see young drivers accelerating from 0-60km/h in 2-3 seconds in shopping centre and other car parks. If any person got in the way, they would likely become another road death statistic.

My theory is that the boy-racer car is a manifestation of low self-esteem. These youngsters are obviously attempting to compensate for an absence of love, respect and attention in their lives. They then try to acquire that from their peers and they see that owning and driving a souped-up car is the only way to get it. It doesn’t say much for the quality of parenting, does it?

Until these issues are regulated and addressed by the authorities, I fear there will be many false dawns with regard to improvements in road deaths.

Kevin Fitzsimons

Knockrour

Kilbehenny

Co Limerick