10 May 2006
Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Minister of State at the Department of Transport (Mr. Gallagher): The establishment of the road safety authority is an important element in the Government's strategy to improve road safety and I am pleased to be in a position to bring the Bill to the Seanad today...
Dr. Henry: I wish to share my time with Senator Browne, who will take the last two minutes of my slot.
I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Gallagher, to the House and I welcome the Bill before us. I hope the road safety authority will bring together many of the issues which have been addressed in a very sensible manner by Members today. I am delighted that the road safety authority will develop and monitor the delivery of a comprehensive road safety programme because that has not happened to date. One of the most serious deficiencies at present is the fact that we have very poor statistics about what happens in road accidents. The statistics are very weak.
I was delighted to read in the Garda Review of 3 April 2006 that the Garda Síochána is most anxious to start properly investigating road traffic collisions, which are described as "road homicides". That is an accurate description, given that in many cases one could have foreseen the accidents because of the behaviour of drivers or the state or sort of vehicle being driven.
We have poor figures in Ireland and accidents are divided very roughly into those involving car users, pedestrians, motor cyclists, cyclists and other road users. In contrast, the United States of America has, for many years, had a most sophisticated system, known as the US fatality analysis reporting system, which gives them a very detailed picture of what happened in each accident.
The garda who wrote the aforementioned article in the Garda Review said that if there was a camera, yellow chalk and a measuring tape in the back of every patrol car - which would not cost a lot of money - it would be of enormous help in the investigation of accidents. Of course, aerial photographs are also useful. Frequently, however, gardaí are trying to get the vehicles involved in an accident off the road so that other traffic can pass, rather than actually trying to determine what happened. I hope this particular issue will be addressed.
I would like to focus on pedestrians, who make up approximately 20% of those killed on our roads annually and almost as many again suffer serious injury. Of course, pedestrians must look out for themselves, but some are particularly vulnerable, especially with regard to certain types of vehicles. Elderly people and children are some of our most vulnerable pedestrians. However, they must use our roads, as many of them are not in a position to drive.
I was very interested in recent reports concerning sports utility vehicles, or SUVs, and pedestrians. We already know that heavy vehicles are over-represented in accidents involving cyclists. Based on figures from the United States, it appears that SUVs are over-represented in accidents resulting in pedestrian fatalities. When a person is hit by an SUV or a light truck, he or she is hit much higher up in the body than would be the case with a standard vehicle. SUVs are much higher off the ground so that it is the abdomen, chest or head that is injured, rather than the legs.
The Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006 states, with regard to pedestrian safety, that:
The Minister for Transport will make regulations to transpose Directive 2003/102/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 relating to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The Directive applies to cars and van-cars up to 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight and lays down the harmonised technical requirements for EU type approval of such motor vehicles with regard to pedestrian protection.
As far as I am aware, nothing has been done in this regard.
The strategy document goes on to state that "The aim of the Directive is to reduce deaths and injuries to pedestrians and cyclists by motor vehicles through changes in the design of the fronts (i.e. bumper, bonnet and windscreen) of vehicles." I do not think anything has happened in this regard either. The document also suggests that the Department would do something to address the issue of the so-called bull bars, which are on such vehicles.
Mr. Gallagher: We have done that.
Dr. Henry: I did not think anything had been done. Certainly it had not when I last asked of the Department. Bull bars festoon the front of these vehicles in the suburbs. A friend of mine, recently returned from Australia, was horrified to see them. They are known as roo bars in Australia, where they were first introduced because of kangaroos on the road. I have not met any kangaroos, whatever about bulls, in Ballsbridge but people are driving around with their cars festooned with bull bars. The fatality rate, if one is hit by such cars, is very high. I suggest there are many useful actions we could take at once.
The Irish Medical Organisation suggested that purchasers of SUVs should be warned about how dangerous they are for pedestrians. Many are being used as family cars. The fatality rate for pedestrians hit by such vehicles is 2.5 times greater than for a standard car. The same situation applies for small children, particularly in the driveways of houses because, as Senator Mansergh has said, driver vision is very limited when reversing even if one has convex mirrors or a wide angle lens. Perhaps we should consider a more rigorous driving test for such vehicles, similar to that for heavy vehicles.
It is appalling the way people persist in parking on footpaths, the only place where pedestrians are supposed to be able to travel safely. I was near a primary school in the Nutgrove area yesterday and saw numerous cars, including SUVs, parked all along the footpath. A friend of mine told me of a lollipop lady she knows who recently resigned her post because she was on the receiving end of considerable cheek from the owners of vehicles when she asked them to refrain from parking on the footpath, which was making it difficult for her to ensure that the children crossed the road safely. Courtesy seems to have left many drivers. We should do something to encourage a resurgence in common courtesy.
I was delighted when Mr. Gay Byrne was appointed to lead the road safety authority because he is a great man for capturing the public imagination. He also has the trust of large numbers of the public and I am sure he will be a great spokesman for the authority, which I wish every success.
Mr. Browne: I thank Senator Henry for sharing her time with me.
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