Increase in road deaths - questions need to be asked

First thing I thought I noticed on that crash was 2 different tread patterns on rear axle ( could be wrong but it struck me at the time)

True that the road culture towards L and N plates is abhorrent honestly it just makes you a target

I actually can’t get over the difference. I’m an ADI, so have a roof sign on sometimes, or maybe just L plates, rarely have neither on.

When I have none on, other drivers have a bit of respect for you. With L-plates, there is less respect and pulling out in front of you at junctions/roundabouts.

With the roof sign on, talk about a different ball game! I’ve had people overtaking me on narrow roads coming up to pedestrian crossings/lights, pull out right in front of me on roundabouts, be right up behind me, and this is when I’m driving myself, at the speed limit! It’s actually terrible that I’ve had to use my dual controls more for other drivers than a learner driving my car. Ridiculous how other drivers treat driving schools!

Phone usage is an issue now. Drivers have no fear of being caught.

Yes as to 1. Not overwhelm the system with trivial cases and 2. Not turn the public attitude against the gardai. Get real and chase the dude doing 150km on an 80 instead of taking easy shots.

Yes, there could be a statistical difference, my point is do you think that should carry weight? Because on other issues there would be more significant findings, often quite problematic. And how is extra "education" an approach on this, people need to be hit with consequences they know speed limits exist they choose to ignore them.

It is not that hard, many of use managed to do it.

One problems that they are now planning to dick around with speed limits to give the impression of doing something rather with any real concern for road safety. This will break the connection between speeding and breaking the speed limit and will likely make things worse.

As for speed limit enforcement, it should be definitely have a different penalty for substantially breaking the speed limit rather than marginally breaking it. Rather than 3 points for everything have 2 points for +20%, but 4 points or more for beyond that.

And there needs to be enforcement for things beyond speeding, cameras on all traffic lights to detect red light breakers, some effort to address lane discipline, and a conscious effort to detect drink and drug at places associated with such things.

Data from 2021 but published 2023 ......

Does Portugal really get through around twice as many car travellers per million pop as Ireland ?

Some of the eastern Euro countries seem to count three times as many as RoI :(

p.s. similar for 2022 : ( https://transport.ec.europa.eu/background/road-safety-statistics-2022-more-detail_en )

How many drug related deaths in RoI in 2022 ?

When is a road death also a drug death ?

Can a death be 'claimed' by more than one cause ?

This is an enormous topic in my opinion, and TBH that is backed up by the RSAs tactic of combining both together to reach the "Speed is a factor in 1/3 deaths", which in turns gives seemingly endless justification to private speed camera operators.

The RSA do not say X% of deaths were as a result of breaking the limit - because they aren't. It can be fairly reliably assumed (from the RSA's refusal to publish detailed breakdowns) that they are overwhelmingly due to "inappropriate speed'.

Guess what is entirely ignored on the driving test? Car control at speed. I've been a passenger in many cars, and seen countless others, where the driver clearly hadn't a clue how to drive on a country road - zero planning for crests, off-camber corners, reacting to other drivers edging their nose out, letting others pass in a predictable manner, braking mid-corner, giving cyclists adequate room, cutting corners for a better view and car balance. NONE of that is taught, or tested for, and is likely a reason for high deaths on country roads.