Road carnage - Policing of points system vital

WITH carnage continuing on the roads, the creation of a specialised garda traffic corps by Justice Minister Michael McDowell is long overdue.

This is a step in the right direction, but there will be no dramatic improvements overnight as the number of traffic gardaí will increase by only 32 to 563 over the next 14 months.

When finally up and running in 2008, it will have a ring-fenced budget, plus its own dedicated staff of 1,200 gardaí.