Garda vehicles involved in crash every day for five years

A GARDA vehicle has been involved in a crash every day over the past five years and members of the force were at least partly to blame for almost half of the 2,000 incidents recorded up to the end of last year.

Approximately 450 crashes involving patrol cars and other vehicles are recorded every year. Gardaí were held responsible for just over 1,000 of the crashes, wholly in 827 cases and partly in a further 226, according to figures released by garda management.

Garda headquarters claim the figures are not a cause for concern, given the nature of the emergency work members carry out and the fact that patrol cars are used 24 hours a day, resulting in greater mileage than ordinary cars.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is concerned at the backlog of applications for driving courses at the training college in Templemore and in Dublin.

A small majority of members are driving patrol cars with no more training than a person on a full and clean driving licence, according to GRA president Michael Kirby. They do so with the approval of a chief superintendent.

Every year, approximately 500 members sign up for either a standard or advanced test but management say there is a high failure rate.

The figures were released by garda management after an Irish Examiner report last week showed accidents have risen by nearly 300% year-on-year. The Comptroller and Auditor General stated damages and costs were paid out in 2002 following 223 crashes, up from 81 the previous year.

But the gardaí said the number of accidents has remained consistent, around 450 a year. From 1998 to 2002, gardaí were involved in 2,148 accidents.

They were held either fully or partly responsible for 1,053 of these, including 240 of 439 last year. They were found not responsible in just less than 1,000 cases. These include cars deliberately damaged, or rammed, during car chases.

Superintendent John Farrelly of the garda press office said: “It’s not a cause of worry ... patrol cars are on the road 24 hours a day and, where an ordinary car may do 12,000-15,000 miles a year, a patrol car will do 80,000-100,000.

“We work as an emergency service and must get from A to B in a quicker time span than others.

The wear and tear on the fleet was recognised last year when an extra €3.2 million was spent replacing old, high-mileage vehicles.

Drivers of patrol cars have to observe the rules of the road and cannot speed unless it is to save a life or if they believe there is a potential for serious injury. In pursuit, here is no pressure to get involved in a high-speed chase.