Road deaths at lowest since 1965

mike65

This from www.unison.ie

Figures show road deaths at lowest since 1965

13:02 Wednesday January 1st 2003


New figures from the Department of Transport show that the death toll on our roads in 2002 was the lowest since 1965. 379 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2002, compared with 411 deaths in 2001. That represents a reduction of about 8%. The introduction of the penalty points system in November is widely credited with being one of the main reasons for the drop in fatalities. The Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, said that while the reduction in deaths was welcome, "the number of people loosing their lives on our roads remains unacceptably high."

Apart from the good news of fewer dead ppl it also means the governments 5 year plan to cut deaths by 20% was nearly reached (18%).

Still, no cigar....

Mike.

seamus

That amount was helped significantly by the last two months' figures.
Personally, I'm very interested to see if the reduction persists for two reasons:
1. Obviously less people dying == good. Duh.

2. To see if it actually is the penalty points for speeding which have done this. If it is, then some heads are going to have to roll in the Gardai and the Depts responsible for the disgusting delay in getting them put in place, and Famous Seamus should be given a medal for having the basic common sense to force its implementation. I personally, and cynically, think that we're in the middle of the shock period. Sometime next year, road deaths will increase again to 'normal' levels, but they'll probably be still lower than other years.

If the last two months' trend continues, we're looking at around 210 deaths by next January, which would be extremely good indeed.

Barry Aldwell

Originally posted by seamus
If the last two months' trend continues, we're looking at around 210 deaths by next January, which would be extremely good indeed.

Taken out of context that makes you look like some kind of terrorist.

On topic, I would say that the figures will probably drop a bit more, and then hold, unless the Gardai really start killing people caught speeding (instant loss of licence etc.).

Robbo

I always found it hilarious when peeps bleat on about road deaths that the suicide rate in this country is ignored.

For as long as I can remember, more people have killed themselves that have died on the roads, but you scarcely see penalty points attached to every Leonard Cohen album or stick of black eyeliner...

Illkillya

Originally posted by Robbo
For as long as I can remember, more people have killed themselves that have died on the roads, but you scarcely see penalty points attached to every Leonard Cohen album or stick of black eyeliner...

rofl Robbo, that quote is going on my fridge

sceptre

Originally posted by seamus
2. To see if it actually is the penalty points for speeding which have done this. If it is... Famous Seamus should be given a medal for having the basic common sense to force its implementation.

Aye, I'd agree with that (speaking as someone who criticises far more often than praises). About time to be sure but at least he finally introduced the thing. It'll need a bit more of a cop presence in speeding areas though lest the shock wear off. And proper points introduction for all the other things too.

Kell

Has no-one noticed that 379 is still a disgustingly high number of fatalities on the roads for a country of our size? What is also stunning is the disproportionately large number of deaths that occur in low population density areas.

The cops have got it all wrong in terms of their positioning where they are catching people speeding. Day 1: Stillorgan Dual Carriageway. Duh. Of course they're going to catch people speeding, everyone fu*king does on that road, but it's a hell of a lot safer than doing 80 on 60mph, shi*ty crummy road in the back arse of Cavan where theres not a cop in sight.

The main thing that has to change is attitude, and that will take a hell of a lot longer through effective teaching and accompanied L drivers (not dissin you guys). When did the guy last night figure that it was OK to get out of his car and try and smash my drivers window after nearly running into the back of me twice, in wet, dark conditions with f*ck all visibility, telling me that it was my fault that he was driving up my arse? Last nights Newstalk listener comment, summed up the Irish drivers attitude- the caller said that operation freeflow was basically a money printing machine for the clampers, to which the guy from Dublin council replied- "They were only doing their job and enforcing the law". Goes to show that most Irish people expect to break the rules and get away with it.

I personally dont see fatalities being reduced a hell of a lot because I dont think the cops have a presence on the dangerous roads where they are needed the most. It will take at least five years of being done for every misdemeanour possible before our driving habits start to tow the line, and by then we'll have some other crisis to worry about and they'll start to rise again.

Blitzkrieger

[bad taste]Maybe the reason for the reduction is that all the really bad drivers are dead now?[/bad taste]

It's not actually a significant reduction, and I'd be quicker to attribute the reduction to newer cars having better safety equipment than attribute it to the penalty points system. The goverment and the filth don't seem to understand : The only way to lower the road deaths is increased driver training.

Kell

A thought I had, Blitzkrieger, in relation to safety equipment in cars, is that when you get into the high end safety stuff like six airbags, ABS, traction control etc, the cost and insurance puts most of these motors out of the reach of those who need 'em the most i.e. inexperienced drivers. I think if a relatively inexperienced driver is going to bite the bullet and buy a very safe car then their insurance premiums should be cheaper than your 95 Jap import Nissan Micra as sported by many a L driver or relatively inexperienced drivers as it's all they can afford the insurance on.

BogoBot

Originally posted by Kell
A thought I had, Blitzkrieger, in relation to safety equipment in cars, is that when you get into the high end safety stuff like six airbags, ABS, traction control etc, the cost and insurance puts most of these motors out of the reach of those who need 'em the most i.e. inexperienced drivers. I think if a relatively inexperienced driver is going to bite the bullet and buy a very safe car then their insurance premiums should be cheaper than your 95 Jap import Nissan Micra as sported by many a L driver or relatively inexperienced drivers as it's all they can afford the insurance on.

Amen to that. If less experienced drivers were allowed to drive big slow cars....insured on power to weight...then they would learn better driving skills with the benefit of ABS, bigger tyres etc.

Bogobot.

Chimaera

Well, I would say that the less technology fitted to a learner car the better. That way you learn about car control without nannying electronic aids such as ABS, traction control, stability control. These are all fine systems, but imho the driver should be able to drive without them as well. Driving is a skill, and like any other skill, it is best learned on a basic machine, where the driver's skill is key. That way the technology becomes an aid to better driving, rather than the basis of the driver's ability behind the wheel.

I'm not sure if I'm being clear here, but I think it's a case of technology won't make a bad driver good, but it'll get them out of trouble most of the time, whereas it'll make a good driver better. F1 is a classic example of this I think.

Ideally, it should be possible to get driving lessons on a race track, so that you can explore the full limits of the cars abilities in a safe environment. Then when you go back on to the road, you'll know how the car behaves in extreme situations, and will be in a much better position to deal with it. I would say most people driving in this country wouldn't have a clue what to do if their car started to spin, or go out of control in some fashion.

Kell

Chimaera- I agree with your point on people being given the opportunity to learn on a skid pan or a race track, but few people know how to control their car, as you say in the event of a spin, skid etc.

Where the immediate benefit of ABS/Traction control comes in, is that with these features on the car, twenty something of the poor souls who died, mightent have. To a person with no experience in a skid, ABS might be the difference between losing their life and staying alive. Accident, skid control etc is a luxury to those of us who have been in these situations and thought their way out of it.

Not everyone gets out of their first skid, roll etc alive and we should be working on making safety technology cheaper, so more of us do get out alive first time.

Kell

Oh and another thing. Right from the onset of learning to drive, responsibility is removed from the driver in the event of an accident. Technology brought us dual control learning cars remember? The only way people learn to deal with an accident situation is to be in one and learn by your mistakes.

leeroybrown

I agree with your point on people being given the opportunity to learn on a skid pan or a race track

I think that while proper training like that would be good for "skills" it would also have the negative effect of over inflating the ego's of a lot of the more dangerous drivers.

Good road driving skills (and maybe some instruction on doing an emergency stop ... something a lot of new drivers flying towards an accident have never done) will reduce deaths. If everyone looked properly before they drove out and knew when they should be driving out then all we would have to do is work on the bad/dangerous drivers.

Kell

Thats one thing I was baffled at Leeroy. I had the pleasure of learning to drive in the UK but sat my test here and I couldn't believe that there is no emergency stop in the driving test in Ireland. Nor tuition given on dual carriageways etc or at least none that I have seen.