26th March, 2002
Dr. Henry: Very much of what I want to say has already been said. I welcome this Bill and see it as a great move forward in trying to improve the standard of driving. Unfortunately people take very little notice of fines. People who are rich enough to pay them do so and those who cannot ignore them. Our prisons are unable to cope with the numbers of people who are sentenced for non-payment of fines and discharged almost at once.
City driving needs to be looked at very carefully. We do not pay enough attention to it. Most of the debate this afternoon has been about driving on the open road but driving within the city is of great importance. A considerable number of pedestrians and cyclists are knocked down every year, some of them fatally injured. If we want to pedestrianise the city more and give pedestrians and cyclists more power within the city, it follows that we curtail the activity of drivers. It is regrettable that so many drivers in the city seem to feel a pedestrian crossing is of minimal concern if nobody is on it. Even outside Leinster House where there is always a garda on duty people frequently drive through red lights.
The number of pedestrian crossings in the city is very limited. I made my own efforts to get a crossing on Merrion Street. A couple of years ago I fell on that street having had to rush across. I contacted Inspector Tim Doyle who said he would investigate the matter of putting in a crossing. One of the reasons given by the then corporation authorities for not doing so was that it would slow the traffic - that was one of my intentions. If I were hit at 20 mph it would do far less damage than if I were hit at 40 mph.
Traffic islands were installed but I have been waiting for two years to see the lines painted on the road. I have constantly been given the excuse that they are waiting for a fine day. It has been fine several times in the past two years and I would be most grateful if they would try to complete the crossing.
There are other parts of the city where there are no traffic crossings for nearly half a kilometre. I do not know the length of the side of St. Stephen's Green where Iveagh House is located but when the Minister for Foreign Affairs was trying to walk to his Department he was knocked down one day by a motorcycle. It is quite ridiculous that there are no traffic lights to allow pedestrians to cross the road. What does it matter if traffic is slowed down? The idea is to have it pass through the city more slowly to allow pedestrians to make more use of the streets. This is what we are trying to encourage.
4 o’clock
Another problem is the very short length of time which traffic lights allow to pedestrians to cross the road. Some allow only 20 seconds. I have even had complaints made to me about the traffic lights outside Trinity College, which are mainly used by students who are very fleet of foot. It is not as though we have elderly people trying to cross there all the time, yet it is the young people who complain that the traffic lights change extremely briskly. This matter should be pursued in favour of the pedestrian in order that we get people to use public transport and their feet more when in the city. Although improvements have been made, the city is still designed mainly to cater for the car.
I have great sympathy for drivers regarding the state of road surfaces. The repair of roads in cities and the country leaves much to be desired. We need to address this problem. Accidents are caused by potholes. A friend of mine drove into a very bad one on her way back from County Clare recently which bent her wheel. She pulled into a garage and was told that hers was the fourth car that morning that needed to have a wheel changed. That is intolerable and drivers are entitled to complain bitterly about it. Though there may be a considerable number of houses along them, private roads also have problems. People living along on private roads with between ten and 20 houses have told me of the difficulties they have had in getting roads resurfaced.
We have to do things to help our drivers too. I do not want them to think that I want them off the roads, but the effect they have in the city is incredible. I suggest that, for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, whoever tots up the penalty points in cities takes into account people going through traffic lights at pedestrian crossings and endangering others by driving too close to cycle lanes. Driving in cycle lanes is another way in which the law is being breached.
I commend the Minister of State and hope the Bill has a speedy passage through the House.
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