The Government couldn't care less about road safety

Markus Antonius

In light of the disproportionate amount of deaths on our roads already in 2024, the debates are kicking-off again with the same old culprits - drink driving, drug driving, speeding - all taking the blame once again.

Yet, they refuse to tell us how many deaths are actually attributed to these factors. Quite the slap in the face to the families of those who have died in crashes.

I would like to know why the RSA continue to hide info on accident black spots in the country. If I'm driving around I want an interactive map, a flashing beacon, a giant sign - ANYTHING that will inform me that the road I have entered is a driving black spot. But no, the government really couldn't give a flying f**k. If people knew where the black-spots were then they would only want action, a resolution. Government are allergic to action of course. And resolutions are bad for the climate.

2016 the RSA decided to pull the black spot data that they previously published (very quietly) on a monthly basis. For what reason? GDPR of course. All I want is a crude map of the country with a giant black dot on the area that is dangerous for me to drive through. I'm not looking for the PPS number, the eircode, the death certificate of every person who died there 🙄

Allinall

If you’re driving around anywhere, it’s your responsibility, and yours alone, to make sure you drive safely and don’t injure or kill anyone.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058332100/the-government-couldnt-care-less-about-road-safety

Don't know the road then slow down.

Not sure why you want to know "accident black spots"? drive the car safely. Why you need a flashing beacon to tell you to drive safely?

kippy

A lot of factors no doubt, but I'd love to know how many accidents, fatal or otherwise, where it has been shown that the driver was distracted by use of a mobile phone.

That, I believe is a bigger and bigger issue in all accidents.

GHendrix

Dangerous roads and dangerous road layouts etc should all be reviewed.

It’s so silly always just focusing on speed but lower limits a tiny bit looks good and is easy to do

Wildly Boaring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637059#Comment_121637059

100%

Phone usage is off the charts.

Huge touchscreens not a lot better

Cluedo Monopoly

The government only care about issues that are trending. Then they only care about them while they are trending. Essentially they react in the short term but in reality achieve nothing. It's the worst government in a century. What have they actually achieved through legislation or spending? Zero.

eastie17

Ah yeah “the gubberment” at it again the feckers

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058332100/the-government-couldnt-care-less-about-road-safety

Here ya go:

Seriously, you should be driving like every road is a black spot, because they are. (Yeah, even those bits of west Cork that I didn't manage to cover.)

Atlantic Dawn

There should be records taken of the call and data history of drivers phones leading up to collisions in all fatal accidents.

sameoldname

I'm not willing to blame the government for this, it's down to drivers. Whatever about driving standards before the pandemic but since then, people have just lost their goddamned minds on the roads. The most basic principals of safe driving have atrophied in a large percentage of drivers.

I live rurally and everyday on my commute I meet at least 3 or 4 people driving around blind bends in the middle of the road. And then you see the look of shock when they have to take evasive action because in their shriveled brain the idea of meeting an oncoming car obviously never occurred to them.

I don't know why this has become so prevalent but if you're more worried about hitting a stationary ditch than a moving car you have no business driving on the roads with other people.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637245#Comment_121637245

You simply can blame the government as if we had a proper bus network these idiots would not feel compelled to drive in the first place

sameoldname

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637293#Comment_121637293

There is a bus service that just started last month. It's also completely irrelevant to my point.

65535

Coming up to Youghal bridge back last year there was a 100Kph sign just before the bridge - thankfully someone had the cop on to remove it.

Roads should be graded according to the speed that they can carry - If it is a 100Kph road then it should be possible to drive safely at that speed on that road but take the 'goats path' - the N71 from Glengarriff to Kenmare - it's signed 100 but you will find it difficult when driving through the Caha Pass and Turners Rock Tunnel to even reach 60

Motorways have a proven safety record when you total up the number of vehicles per day - yet we still drive on R roads between the 2 largest cities outside of Dublin.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058332100/the-government-couldnt-care-less-about-road-safety

Ya right, based on your definition there must be a lot of things we all don’t give a crap about since we are not going to give you what ever data you decide you want….. stamping your feet when you don’t get whatever you want is very silly.

animalinside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637322#Comment_121637322

The speed limit is supposed to be an absolute maximum, something you must stay under - not the speed that you should ensure you're doing at least, as some people seem to think.

aziz

What pisses me of is the amount of people that when there side of the road is blocked by parked car or whatever,think that’s is perfectly fine to drive on the other side

yeah just plough away,and run me off the road ,ya Audi driving prick

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637344#Comment_121637344

This is constantly said but the problem is that actions speak louder than words and when doing your driving test if you don't do the speed limit you get marked down. The other issue is that our driving test is a joke 30 minutes driving around a 50 or 60 zone and you are good to drive on boreens and motorways. Especially when people thing the 12 EDT lessons are all you need to learn to drive.

Why aren't the coroners reports into fatal RTCs made available for easy research? We get massive media coverage of the crash but we are never actually told what was the cause. The move to lower all the limits would make sense if we knew that the cause of fatal RTCs was the driver doing 75km/h on an 80km/h road and it makes no sense if they where doing 120km/h on a 80km/h road.

kowloonkev

There are cars on the road with a big screen that can be used to watch movies while driving. How is allowing those brands of cars on the road good for road safety? I can't check my phone at traffic lights but someone can be booting around tertiary roads watching Netflix.

Thespoofer

I suppose an accident can happen on any part of the road TBH OP.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637365#Comment_121637365

You can't watch the screen when driving unless you hack the system. Plenty of people are driving around with their mobile phone mounted in the middle of the screen under the rear view mirror, which creates massive blind spots, while using maps or watching movies/sport/etc.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637368#Comment_121637368

Is it illegal to hack the system in your own car?

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637370#Comment_121637370

No, it's illegal to watch Netflix while driving though. The cars are sold where the ability to show videos only works when stopped then people hack the system to watch when moving, but people with cars that can't show Netflix are driving around with their phones playing Netflix.

The car being able to play videos or games doesn't mean that you can play videos or games while driving, just like a car being able to do 180km/h doesn't mean that you can do 180km/h on a public road here. Even the cars where people complain about everything being on touch screens is BS as they all have voice control so there's no need to use the screen while driving, it's takes a bit of practice to get used to the commands but you can control nearly everything by voice with zero need to take your eyes off the road.

zell12

'accident blackspots' are the same as then oft-used 'killer junctions'. aka deflect the blame from the vehicle operator

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637074#Comment_121637074

My new car has a touch screen for everything. All functions are in menus where you have to look at the screen and do multiple taps.

To turn up the heating temp its 3 taps. You have to be looking at the screen to do it. Same to turn on the radio. Or even the fog light.

These things are worse than putting car controls on a phone for the driver to change via phone.

I dont know how it happened that touch screens became the norm instead of buttons, but i think its a total U-turn for car safety.

pgj2015

N plate drivers are the worst, saw one the other day driving at around 70 mph in a 50 mph zone, my dash read minus 3 degrees at the time, I could feel that the road was icy in spots.

I saw around 15 drivers yesterday driving while using their phone, the reason they are so blatant about it is there are zero Gardai to catch them using the phone. phone use while driving should be a 500 euro fine and 7 points.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637322#Comment_121637322

The point in bold is extremely flawed logic and if taken as gospel by anyone, is another significant cause of accidents.

It is ultimately up to individual circumstances to determine a safe speed for oneself in any given scenario. For example weather conditions, traffic, type of vehicle being driven will all effect what one would call a "safe speed" - again within reason. There is some level of individual responsibility required. They aren't a target though, that is for sure.

It's hard to blame "bad roads" for the issues - while there are no doubt "bad roads" thats not really within the control of the individual driver - what is in their control is how thye drive on these "bad roads" and their driving should be modified to suit the standard of the road/risks etc.

Blaming the state, the council, the roads etc isn't a good situation, while no doubt more can be done to improve things, ultimately your life is in your own hands, unless of course some other idiot road user does something daft that leads to your early demise as well, in which case it's in everyones interest to tighten up on laws and regulations in relation to road use.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637456#Comment_121637456

I don't have a new enough car to have one of these in it but I have seen them and have often wondered about the distraction levels one of these can provide. As you've said, its relatively easy on most "older" cars to change certain things around the car environment etc that don't require a whole lot of attention. I am sure not all of these newer cars have voice controls but even if they do, I am sure they are not 100 percent reliable.

batman_oh

Speed is the easy thing to blame and be seen making an effort on. Slap a few speed cameras/checks on big national roads, bring in double points and fines for bank holidays and that'll stop everything apparently. You'll never see one on a crappy backroad at night where a lot of fatal crashes happen.

Mobile phone use is actually a joke now too, I was waiting to turn into my driveway recently and some guy coming down the road literally driving straight at me, crossed the centre line and I had to swerve the car towards the kerb to avoid him. Head in the phone the whole way. Going around on a motorbike you can really see it, huge amounts of people not looking while driving. Also putting everything on screens, genius idea that. If you want to adjust anything you have to stare at a stupid screen and start messing with it.

prunudo

Growing population equals more road users, more road users equals more chance of accidents. Also factor in the increase of greater commuting distances by more people and service vehicles driving up and down the country. The local economy is in decline and much more common to have sales and tech people driving all over the country as part of their job.

Personally never seen the roads so busy, was a time there would be a lull in the middle of the morning, traffic is constant now. So stands to reason there will be more accidents.

Rsa are blinded by reducing numbers, 'Vision 2050' where they want zero road deaths by 2050 is an unachievable goal. They need a rethink about how they are going to reduce numbers but it will never be zero.

Carlito Brigantes Tale

Phone use and massive touchscreen entertainment systems in modern cars aren't the governments fault. As a motorcycle rider I've almost given in taking the bike out at this stage due to drivers simply not paying attention to the road anymore..

Take personal responsibility

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637456#Comment_121637456

I'm glad you've admitted it, I've made this point for years, cars themselves are getting too distracting, but anyone I've said it too seems oblivious to it and proclaims it as a good thing and the convenience is great. Driving has become too convenient and people have become detached from the task at hand.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637245#Comment_121637245

I know of one road which had a very high death rate. Most fatal accidents were caused by tourists and drunk pedestrians. Tourists were doing crazy things on the road with many bends such as stopping to look at views, u turns and driving at wrong side if road and very often in the middle of the road. The same road was notorious for drunk pedestrians and some were killed by staggering in front of cars and others from sleeping on the road.

In the last few years these fatal accidents seem to have been eliminated but I don't know what has changed to make that happen.

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637456#Comment_121637456

completely agree. I changed my Dacia 2017 to a 2020 recently and am relieved and pleasantly surprised to see it still has the big knob buttons for heat, fans, lights, air con, hazards etc and they're easily accessible. The media/radio centre is touch screen but I set it before I go and that's it.

My sister got a Hyundai recently and absolutely everything is on a touch screen, she couldn't find any controls without going into a huge menu on screen which means if she needs heat/ fan/ air con she has to use the screen while driving or pull off the road. Madness

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637556#Comment_121637556

The voice controls dont work half the time. The other half of the time they do something randomly different to what you asked them to do.

These touchscreens are more of a danger than anything else when it comes to driving imo. I have found myself a few times veering over the other side of the road. Ever try to press a button on your phones screen with one finger when you are moving. Well its like that. You have to stare at the button you want to tap and then concentrate really hard aiming your finger at just the right spot on the screen. All the time not concentrating properly on the road.

I was in the lashing rain on the motorway a few weeks ago. I better turn on the fog light. Pull down on the screen. Press the car tab. Press the lights tab. Find the fog light icon. I just gave up half way through and left the fog light off.

mohawk

There is a huge increase in aggression and bad judgment on the roads since Covid. Lowering speed limits won’t fix this.

Drivers overtaking multiple vehicles at a time on rural roads. How the F do they know when they are that far back whether there is actually a cyclist or pedestrian on the road slowing down the traffic.

Pulling out to wrong side of road to overtake traffic so they can pull out of a junction. Complete disregard for traffic lights.

If you are an aggressive/ bad driver you rely hugely on other drivers to slow down and stop because of your actions. I personally wouldn’t trust other drivers to do this so it’s crazy to me that some people do.

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637034#Comment_121637034

That is totally untrue. We used to have black spot signs they got pulled around the time of the speed detector vans. Lets say you are driving on a road you don't know, there's a black spot sing so you slow down. Up ahead the road is shaded and prone to black ice but you don't have a problem because you slowed down.

There are warning signs for bad bends, uneven road surfaces, kids at play.... so why not warning about black spots.

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637857#Comment_121637857

Black spots got pulled at the behest of the private speed van company. It would have been just too obvious that they weren't concerned with dangerous places, just with their bottom line.

Yet another criminal transfer of money from the public to cronies of our scum politicians.

bigroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637900#Comment_121637900

FF buddies at it again.

Mr. teddywinkles

Deleted

freebritney

There is anything from 20-40% more cars on the road than 10 years ago. Surely everyone can see the huge increase in road traffic, even post covid it's increased massively. If the amount of vehicles on the road is up 20% or 30% then surely accidents will be up accordingly.

Havenowt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637174#Comment_121637174

Checking for calls, yes.

You can't do data as the phone might have been used for google maps or listing to music or a podcast.

bigroad

Sure Liz o Donnell was on Claire Byrne a few weeks back ,like two girls having a relaxed chat over a coffee.

Liz must of forgot to mention that people walking or cycling on dark roads in dark clothes with no lights may be a contributing factor in the statistics.

No no no the Main thing was Speed,Drink and drug driving ,no wearing a seatbelt.

So more speed cameras more fines should do the Job nicely as far as the RSA are concerned.

Are they fit for purpose or is it just an Organisation with jobs for the Boys or Girls.

sameoldname

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637900#Comment_121637900

There were three accident black spots around here that I can remember from when I was younger. One was a crossroads where people on the minor road didn't seem to know that there actually was a crossroads and ignored all the signs telling them there was one. They fixed it by staggering the crossing.

The second was a sharp s-bend on a mountain road heavily used by tourists. They put in advanced signage and also added chevron signs on the bend which actually lit up in sequence in the direction of the bend when you approached. In the last few years they replaced the entire s-bend with a gentle single curve rather than two sharp ones.

The final one they added advanced warning signs starting 500 meters away and a sign that starts flashing if you are above the speed limit. This bend unlike the other two is actually fine unless you are absolutely hammering it which is probably why they still haven't replaced it.

I've never seen a speed van around any of them and what they've done is far better than a generic warning sign.

hoodie6029

Something ridiculous like 200,000 uninsured drivers on the road. That doesn’t count disqualified drivers. They are regularly pulling lorries being driven by disqualified drivers.

Phone distraction is a huge problem too. Easy to see this time of year with smart phones lighting up the entire interior of cars.

The RSA can only do so much. Drive safely and assume other drivers will do something stupid.

There is no conspiracy to hide data from anyone. If you want the data, OP, lodge and FOI request.

Feisar

IMHO it seems silly to dismiss the OPs point and say "oh it's all on the driver". And at the same time I agree it is all on the river however, again, it's silly to dismiss accident black spots. If there are identifiable stretches of roads that have much higher than average accidents surely there is a factor at play there that shouldn't be glibly ignored?

Furze99

Agree that the old black spot signage was useful, the nearest we have it now are the roadside crosses sometimes put up.

Distraction is/ was always a problem. Long before mobile phones, there were kids arguing in the back, peering at a road map etc But I do think it's worse now - cars come with so many buttons and controls to fiddle with and people will fiddle with them when driving. There was a radio you could turn on or off - now all manner of media options. Add in phones, sat nav and the kids are still arguing in the back.

Reducing speed limits unilaterally is a pointless knee jerk reaction. Better to work on driver training and retraining and just plain enforcement of the existing regulations. Oh and eliminate all unlicenced and uninsured drivers.

blackbox

The government only cares about road safety to the extent it will affect the next election.

If there are a lot of crashes they need to be seen to be doing something...

A crash caused by someone pissed drunk - reduce the alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg.

A crash caused by dangerously high speed - reduce the speed limit from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

It doesn't matter that the drunk was 5 times over the old limit or that the speeder was showing off to his passengers doing 120 in an 80 zone - they are seen to be doing something. If you want to logically reduce a speed limit from 80 to 60, you should be able to demonstrate that people driving at 70 in that area are the cause of the problem.

The primary responsibility is on every driver, but the government is responsible for our shocking lack of policing (and not just for road safety).

65535

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637556#Comment_121637556

Speed in an of itself can never kill anyone because it is essentially a mathematical formula - latest signs are 'Tiredness Kills' - it's all just BS - Make proper roads to allow for driving - not for horses and carts.

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637372#Comment_121637372

Surely if it would save even one life, all these potential and real technology distractions should be banned from cars? It's not like they're needed as a function of driving the car. Why would people not support that, if it saved even one life?

65535

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637344#Comment_121637344

I will always do the limit because I can - it's not illegal to drive at 120 kph on a motorway - cars are safe, motorways are safe - putting a 100kph sign on a road coming up to a bend on a bridge is not safe.

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637621#Comment_121637621

What road is that?