[Article] Great escape: drunks and speeders get off scot free

Great escape: drunks and speeders get off scot free
From:The Irish Independent
Tuesday, 22nd April, 2003
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent

MOTORISTS speeding or drink driving know they are very unlikely to be caught, a damning Government report reveals.

It says the chances are far below most other European countries. For speeding it is a negligible one in 1,400, and for drink driving, one in 300.

Gardai must step up enforcement on the roads at least 50-fold to force motorists to slow down and cut road deaths, according to the investigators.

"The present level of police enforcement should increase considerably. This level is modest in comparison with several other countries," the review says.

The unpublished Review of Ireland's Road Safety Strategy obtained by the Irish Independent provides a stark insight into the tiny chances of being caught for motoring offences.

"It is striking that the chance of being caught in Ireland is so low," the report states. "Considerably increasing the chances of being caught speeding or drink driving by massive garda enforcement will save many lives and prevent crashes," it adds.

The review carried out for the Government's High Level Group on Road Safety says Irish people report the chance of being caught speeding is a negligible 3pc due to low Garda surveillance.

With 350,000 fines issued each year at a time when 50pc of people are breaking speed limits during 500 million journeys on Irish roads, the report found the chance of a fine was incredibly low - just one in 1,400.

With just 12,000 detections for drink driving out of a 3.7m population, the chance of "getting caught is very low". There was a one in 300 chance of being caught for this offence, compared to one in 65 in Britain, one in 20 in the Netherlands and one in nine in Sweden.

Other countries were succeeding in having a deterrent effect on drink driving, but for this to happen in Ireland the chance of being caught would have to increase significantly.

INSIDE: Speed limits must come down The experts'

"This means a drastically different approach must be taken by the Garda and the courts," the report carried out by the Netherlands-based SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research said.

It recommends the introduction of a "a much higher level of police enforcement for Ireland", along with public acceptance of such a move.

The study, commissioned by the Department of the Environment, is being used in the new Government road safety strategy to be finalised in coming months.

Carried out by international road safety consultant Dr Fred Wegman, the report urges the setting up of a dedicated Garda Traffic Corps which could be funded by "income" from fines.

It recommends making Garda operations and the law courts more efficient so that increasing the chances of being caught would not block up the legal system with a rash of cases.

The key to reducing death on Irish roads is to instill "a fear among road users that offences will be detected and punished".

This can be achieved by:
* Combining Garda surveillance and adequate publicity.
* Using highly visible Garda checkpoints, but setting these up in a random and unpredictable manner.
* Having checkpoints at locations where there is a good chance of catching offenders and where traffic offences are known to cause accidents.
* Having gardai dramatically step up and continue surveillance methods which cannot be avoided by motorists.

The report was sent to the Government before the introduction of the penalty points system, which is credited with saving 70 lives since its introduction five months ago and preventing hundreds of serious injuries. The system has also led to a slowing down on the roads.