New Head of Road Safety

Gary ITR

Gay Byrne.... Yes Gay Byrne is the new head of Road Safety!! :eek:

Seth Brundle

I had just seen that on breakingnews.ie.
Kind of proves my point in the thread URL="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054908758"]Does Govmt really care about road safety?[/URL that they really don't give a shíte!

crosstownk

Onkle51 wrote:

Gay Byrne.... Yes Gay Byrne is the new head of Road Safety!! :eek:

I'm speechless. I could possibly understand if he was to some sort of PR man but 'head'?

I give up.

peasant

Did Salvatore Dali by any chance paint this country?

Couldn't be any more surreal if he had ...

colm_mcm

I can't see the problem with Gaybo heading this, He's obviously rerasonably intelligent and has a bit of free time on his hands.

fletch

I'm all for him too....people will listen when he talks....whether or not they act is another story all together

Gary ITR

colm_mcm wrote:

I can't see the problem with Gaybo heading this, He's obviously rerasonably intelligent and has a bit of free time on his hands.

Thats fair enough but i'd go with what kbannon is saying, this is obviously more of a pr stunt rather than an actual interest in saving lives. The dept of transport couldn't give a sh1te

crosstownk

Can anybody tell me what qualifies Gaybo for this position?

Turner

People have been watching him and listening to him for 40+ years

Maybe they might take heed of what he has to say with regard to road safety.

AnnaStezia

fletch wrote:

...people will listen when he talks.../QUOTE]

Yes, but which generation will be doing the listening ?

I wish GB well but fear that he may not appeal to the generation who most need to hear and heed his message whatever that may be.

Gary ITR

Thing is the people that have been watching and listening to him for the last 40 odd years aren't the ones driving like maniacs and killing themselves and others

crosstownk

Thats a valid point - but I doubt he'll be the man with the ideas. So I reckon it's more of a media stunt - he'll just be the PR muppet. If it works then OK. But I have to say that I do have my reservations. Time will tell.

lostexpectation

Is he going to learn how to say safety properly?

maidhc

AnnaStezia wrote:

Yes, but which generation will be doing the listening ?

More wagging fingers from old dears is in store i'm afraid.

peasant

errmmm ...correct me if I'm wrong ...but wouldn't you expect the head of the road safety authority to be doing just a little bit more than "spread the message" ??

How about finding out, what a safe road actually looks like, from a construction, surface, marking , signing point of view?

How about applying the right kind of pressure to actually get those safe roads built?

How about finally getting random breath testing introduced?

How about putting the pressure on, so that the so called traffic corps actually gets the means to be worthy of its name?

How about someone who has the power to override dithering and clueless local councils in the implementation of speed limits around accident black spots.

How about someone who has the power to finally introduce proper accident investigation (and resulting from that accident prevention) in this country?

Yea, right ...Aunty Gaybo is going to do all that ...

All he will be doing is annoying the pants off everybody on the radio and telly with his safety sermons.

And when he retires, Daniel O'Donell will take over ...only he will sing this time.

jhegarty

he never did the driving test ... (only a motorbike one)

colm_mcm

In fairness, he's the chairperson, he listens to ideas, I think this should all be welcomed.

drdre

Wow gay byrne, whats going on with the country.its getting more and more messed up:(

fletch

AnnaStezia wrote:

Yes, but which generation will be doing the listening ?

I'm a young male driver and I would know his voice instantly

crosstownk

Maybe Martin Cullen will present The Late Late Show at some point in the future.....................

Henry Ford III

Eddie Shaw, former President of ther National Safety Council, resigned over road safety issues I think.

He was a well respected man, with a way wider knowledge than Gaybo has in this area I'd suggest.

Interviewing the Rose of Tralee hopefulls is one thing, but coordinating a concerted effort to save lives on the roads is another entirely.

I wish him well, but fear he is doomed to failure.

colm_mcm

It awaits to be seen, Gaybo may not be an expert, but there will be experts on the panel

crosstownk

Henry Ford III wrote:

I wish him well, but fear he is doomed to failure.

I feel the same. Gaybo is not the nationwide celeb he used to be. He was a major celeb at one stage but I don't ever remember him being a champion for road safety any more than the next fella.

mike65

Interesting to se the age profile of this website reflected in the comments, meanwhile in the wider world (!) the appointment will proberly be seen for what it is. Good PR for a body that needs some.

Mike.

wasabi

jhegarty wrote:

he never did the driving test ... (only a motorbike one)

No way! He was on Newstalk at about 5:30pm today giving out about provisional drivers.

Having said that there I was pootling along going 'dunno who this guy is but he's talking a bit of sense, get the random breath testing in, fix the test system, enforcement, grand'. Then I realised who it was and jaw hit floor.

Almost had an accident myself as a result

crosstownk

Having read this post (and another) I'm gonna shut up now and revisit it after Gaybo's been given a chance. It seems some people agree with it - I do not - but lets wait and see. Everybody deserves a fair crack at the whip.

alleepally

In most of the previous posts in this thread people are pointing the blame at others on the roads. It's not about others. It's me, you and everyone else. We are responsible for the deaths. Rushing in traffic to make some work deadline. Taking a chance with just one pint. Driving when tired. etc etc.

I've sent an idea into the Dept of Trasport and have posted about it on my blog.

http://wicklow.wordpress.com

lostexpectation

there's about three threads on this, I really want to see who is his mate is...

what other directorships or business interests, or charity sponsorships does Gay Bryne have?



I think this could back fire as it will be seen as the hollow PR stunt that it is, I wouldn't want to see Brendan Gleeson chairing a hospital safety cmttee.

could they be merged I think transport would be best

colm_mcm

I think we might be reading into this a bit,

Gay byrne is an old guy with some public sway, he has a bit of time on his hands, he has experience of managing people (as a producer) and has been in the middle of many arguments during his TV and radio career, I can't think of someone more qualified in a mediator/listener role.

Esel

Because Gay used to ride a Hardly-Davidson (sic), I would be interested to hear his opinion on road safety vis-a-vis motorcyclists.

BTW, as chairman, won't his function be to run meetings, do PR etc. I presume he will only have a vote if any main vote is tied?.

I certainly hope the other members are 'experts' in some relevant field.

He is of an age that he probably never had to do a driving test, with the possible exception of a motorcycle test for the Hardly, as someone said above. He is probably 'qualified' to drive buses and HGVs. I knew someone who was, and he never actually drove in his entire life.

colm_mcm

He's fairly level-headed though, I think he's ideal for the job, will also supplement his RTE pension and keep himself and Kathleen in meals out for a few more years

JohnCleary

Onkle51 wrote:

Thing is the people that have been watching and listening to him for the last 40 odd years aren't the ones driving like maniacs and killing themselves and others

No, but the people who have been listening to him for the past 40+ years are the ones driving home after 10 pints at the local

colm_mcm

they're not the ones crashing though.........

JohnCleary

colm_mcm wrote:

they're not the ones crashing though.........

Oh right, that makes it perfectly fine then!

Apologies :rolleyes:

prospect

Mioght not be such a bad thing.

I remebmer from his Late-Late days that he always had a very tough attitude about criminals. If they are guilty, they go down, for as long as possible.
I think I also remember he wasn't impressed with how well prisoners are looked after, Satalite TV, etc. etc.

I know he has absoloutely no sway in these matters, but if he brings that 'no-nonsense' approach to the road safety council, maybe he'll do allright.

Lets give him a chance before slating him.

el tel

I think Gaybo is an ignorant and prejudiced little weasel and his appointment is dubious to say the least. I guess he will have to be judged on what he achieves although I won't be holding my breath.

I can see langer lands new flash animation already

"OhKay! Auntie Gaybo says slowdown OhKay!"

mike65

He was on Pat Kennys radio prog this morning, he aquitted himself very well. He made it clear that at his time of life he ain't doing this for fun or to be frustrated by THE POWERS THAT BE, the audio archive will be online tomorrow sometime if you want to listen. Add the link when it appears.

Mike.

lostexpectation

He revealed he was only approached two weeks ago. Mr Cullen personally offered him the job. He was given one week to decide if he wanted it.

Sources said last night the minister himself decided to head-hunt Gaybo as he felt he was the best person for the job.


So which PR brain gave Martin Cullen the idea?

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1589405&issue_id=13862

use bugmenot and remember me

mike65

Heres the real audio of gaybo speaking with Pat Kenny http://www.rte.ie/rams/radio/latest/Tue/rte-todaywithpatkenny.smil its the first feature 3 mins in.

Mike.