Irish Examiner view: Update for rules of the road needed

The positive statistics and improving road safety lose their cogency in the light of terrible tragedies such as the deaths of Kiea McCann and Dlava Mohamed in Clones

Best friends 17-year-old Kiea McCann and 16-year-old Dlava Mohamed died in a car crash near Clones, Co Monaghan, on their way to their school debs ball. Picture: Instagram

Statistically speaking, roads are safer than ever. But when terrible tragedy strikes, as it did last week with the deaths of Kiea McCann, 17, and Dlava Mohamed, 16, on the N54 near Clones, then statistics lose their cogency as humanity and grieving takes over. 

But now, while there remain tears aplenty for the two young girls who were on their way to their debs ball, and with the circumstances of the single-car accident still unclear, focus is returning into what can be done to make Ireland’s road network much safer.

Ireland is part of a Europe-wide campaign to reduce fatalities to zero by 2050, and to cut deaths and serious injuries on our highways by 50% within the next seven years. It is what planners and politicians like to call a “moonshot” target and, when we look at the numbers, we can place some context alongside the ambition.

Yearly fatalities in the Republic topped 200 in 1947, and didn’t fall below that benchmark for more than 60 years — until 2011. The worst year in our history was 1978, when 628 people died on Ireland’s roads. Although numbers have been stabilised in the past decade, trends have been worsening, particularly among younger people.

Road Safety Authority figures show that fatalities are the highest since 2017 and stand at more than 100 year to date. Forty of the victims were drivers, 22 pedestrians, 20 passengers, 14 motorcyclists, two e-scooter drivers or passengers, one pedal cyclist, and one was a pillion passenger. Rural areas are witnessing increases and the percentage of fatalities between 8pm and 8am is also rising.

Across Europe, the death toll is also expanding after years of progress. Fatalities have been reduced by more than half since the 54,900 of 2001, while the number of passenger cars has increased from just over 200m to more than 260m over the same timescale. The bloc has plans to standardise driving tests with a common legal age of 17 and a two-year probationary period for new licence holders.

There is no one reason for the increase in the worrying numbers. Speed and driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol continue to spread risk and concern. Distraction within the vehicle — perhaps from mobile phones and sound systems or from passengers — can be another factor. The problems of fatigue, while fully recognised in the professional driving environment, is given too little consideration in car journeys. Another challenge is the patchy nature and availability of in-car safety systems, particularly in Ireland, which has always had a vigorous secondhand market.

Many new vehicles have features which can prevent accidents, or at least assist the motorist to mitigate the impact of an emergency. They might include anti-lock braking systems and electronic stability control. Some models have autonomous emergency braking which intervenes if a driver does not take action or is slow in responding. 

Then there is technology such as the lane departure warning which helps to ensure that the car does not wander across the road unintentionally. Then there are older safety features such as airbags and pre-tensioned seatbelts — incredibly some people still refuse to wear lifesaving belts, despite it being illegal. This recklessness tells us all we need to know about the likelihood of road deaths being reduced to zero.

Of all the measures which need improvement speed reductions are likely to bring the quickest returns. In Ireland, we have six different limits and there is a strong case for simplifying and reducing them all. In many countries 20 miles per hour (32km/h) is increasingly common in all urban areas supported by widespread deployment of traffic cameras. 

While it is possible to rail against these as a form of back-door tax, the argument carries no weight when you contemplate the different range of impacts of hard metal on the human body at varying speeds. In short: The slower the vehicle, the greater the chance of both survival and recovery for a victim of a road traffic accident.

There are a number of reasons, some cited by drivers, and others which are self-evident, why motorists speed. Traffic congestion is frequently mentioned as a contributory factor to aggressive driving. Some people have too much to do and are “running late”, which can force them to change lanes frequently or become angry at anyone who they believe impedes their progress. 

Others enjoy the smoked-glass anonymity their vehicles give them, while some like the sense of entitlement which accompanies a superior marque. And there are those who harbour a disregard for others and for the law.

A relative who spoke movingly to the Irish Examiner at the weekend about losing her 10-year-old daughter to a drunken driver 32 years ago put it like this: “The pain just doesn’t go away. People say time heals; time heals on the outside but not your inside, your heart is just broken. There is no point in me saying that time heals.”

Human error is the cause of 90% of modern accidents. To achieve a moonshot reduction we need better cars, better roads, better enforcement, and, above all, better drivers.

Military planning 

It won’t have escaped the attention of Irish politicians and armchair strategists that Nato has updated its battle planning for the first time in decades after the war in Ukraine.

With recent experience of Russia and its mercenaries, instability in Africa, and the dangers of China-influenced conflict in the East, military leaders have established three regional plans: One covering the Atlantic and the northern Arctic; one for the Baltic and mainland Europe, and one for the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Nato aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to transfer to its eastern flank within 30 days.

Ireland, of course, is not part of Nato, along with Austria, Cyprus, and Malta. But the fact that our allies are moving on poses questions for the Republic and the Constitution which cannot be put off forever.

Polluter pays 

Irish businesses and consumers are losing €300m annually according to the regulator Comreg, with more than 1,000 fraudulent messages sent daily. The proposal is to implement technical interventions to block scam calls and texts. This requires legislative change apparently.

Call us simplistic, but perhaps matters would have moved more quickly if the mobile phone companies, rather than the customer, had to pick up the tab. Other industries follow the “polluter pays” principle. Why not telecoms?