Assessment of Evidence Received

Safety of Vehicles

It is encouraging that the EU and eSafety initiative will deliver, according to SIMI, a significant and sustainable reduction in road fatalities. As part of this programme, the European Commission has undertaken an initiative in relation to ‘intelligent’ cars. Essentially, it is clear that cars, with the advent of new technology, can be manufactured in ways that will reduce fatalities. Among the safety features in cars that are familiar are the following:

•the provision of safety belts

•ABS brake systems

•side-impact bars

•airbags.

However there are many other features that could be made compulsory for all new motor vehicles. These include:

•the inability to start a vehicle until the seat belts of the driver and passengers are engaged

•a new type of seat belt that will improve the prospects of survival in a crash

•ESP systems, which improve driver control in slippery conditions

•lane departure warning signals

•collision avoidance and active pedestrian protection

•an alcohol lock that will prevent a person under the influence of alcohol from driving the vehicle

•adaptive cruise control that will link the speed of the vehicle to an electronic sign at the side of the road

•a ‘black box’’ — see information in Section 9.

Vehicle Registration Tax

In general, it seems that Irish purchasers of motor vehicles are not particularly conscious of the safety features of the vehicle. This might be due to a lack of advertising to consumers of the possibility of checking on the safety features on the euroncap.com website. A further issue that arose in the course of the presentation by SIMI was that our system of vehicle registration tax may be unintentionally bringing about the offer of less safety features on cars imported into Ireland. Essentially, VRT is payable on the cost of the imported car, including all safety features. While each importer must comply with the standard type of approval, nevertheless, there are many additional safety options available. Unfortunately, these are at present subject to VRT.

Imports of Used Cars

The Joint Committee was very surprised to learn that SIMI expects that there will be 70,000 used cars with an average age of about seven years imported in 2006 from the United Kingdom. As the latest models of motor vehicles are likely to contain the most safety features, it is obvious that older models of cars being imported do not have such features. On the one hand, imported used cars provide competitive pressure on the Irish car market and may result in lower prices being obtained by consumers for used vehicles. However, if, on the other hand, these vehicles are less safe than the new vehicles now being imported, they could be contributing to the number of road fatalities. It is very important that this issue is addressed as quickly as possible.

Exceeding Type Approval

While the safercar.com and euroncap.com approach is one of encouragement to motor manufacturers to improve the safety of their vehicles, it would be possible for the Road Safety Authority, which is responsible for vehicle standards, to apply higher safety standards to cars being imported to Ireland than the minimum that apply at present. It would seem to be very important that all imported cars, whether new or used, conform to the highest possible safety standards if road fatalities are to be significantly reduced.

Scrappage Scheme

When the issue of the standards of new and used cars is addressed, consideration can be given to the re-introduction of a vehicle scrappage scheme with a view to removing old and unsafe cars from the roads. However, there is no point in undertaking such a scheme until the issue of the import of new and used cars, which are not as safe as they could be, is addressed.

Left-hand Drive Cars

In addition, the entry to the market of left-hand drive cars is another issue that needs be considered. Many tourists from the Continent bring their car with them and stay for a few weeks. It is not suggested that there should be any change in regulations permitting the entry of such cars to Irish roads.

However, a recent trend has been that immigrants to Ireland have brought their left-hand drive vehicles with them. Where the person driving the car is resident in Ireland, the cars are subject to the NCT Test. However, where the person driving the car can establish that they are resident in the country from which the car has been imported, then the law does not require that the vehicle be subject to Irish VRT or the NCT Test. This issue needs to be urgently addressed to ensure that all vehicles on Irish roads are subject to the NCT Test and are of a high standard. It is reasonable to question whether a left-hand drive vehicle can be regarded as safe for normal driving on Irish roads where there is no front-seat passenger.

Recommendations

The Joint Committee is convinced that motor vehicles can be made safer for the user and can be designed to significantly reduce the number of fatalities arising from their use. The Joint Committee recommends the following:

6.The Road Safety Authority should publicise the existence of the euroncap.com website so that consumers become aware of the safety standard of the cars they are purchasing. All motor dealers should be required to inform purchasers of new and used cars of the safety rating of the vehicle.

7.The Road Safety Authority should prohibit the entry of all vehicles —new and used- that do not meet a satisfactory safety standard.

8.The Road Safety Authority should publish a programme to improve the safety standard and safety features of all imported vehicles over a period of three years.

9.The Road Safety Authority should consider whether imported left hand drive cars can be driven safely on Irish roads by those who are living in Ireland.

8. Road Engineering

Introduction

The standard of engineering of our roads can make a very substantial contribution to the reduction of fatalities. The fatality rate per kilometre travelled of dual carriageways and motorways is substantially less than on single carriageway national primary routes.

The National Roads Authority has responsibility for motorways, dual carriageways and other national primary roads. Local Authorities are responsible for all other roads.

Evidence Received

Mr Michael Egan, on behalf of the National Roads Authority, made the following points:

1.The primary function of the NRA under the National Roads Act 1993 is to secure the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads. The NRA works closely with local authorities to achieve this objective. National primary and national secondary roads have a combined length of 5,400 kilometres or just fewer than 6 per cent of the total public road network in the country. While the length of the network may be proportionally small relative to public roads generally, national roads carry over 40 per cent of all road traffic.

2.The Authority’s remit as regards road safety has traditionally focused on engineering and related research matters, with education and enforcement being addressed by others.

3.Many of the NRA’s activities in engineering relate to road safety measures and reflect the specific task set by the Government in the road safety strategies that have been in place since 1998. The Authority met or exceeded the targets set for the initial strategy for the years 1998 — 2002. Good progress has been made under the current strategy.

4.The Authority is working actively to make the network of national roads as safe as possible.

5.All new road designs of national roads are prepared to UK design standards and incorporate international best practice. The UK has one of the best accident records in the world. By using their standards as the base reference, the NRA takes advantage of the large research resources in place and the many years of experience that the UK has in developing its road network.

6.Under Transport 21, by the end of 2010, there will be motorways or high-quality dual carriageways from Dublin to Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Galway and to Northern Ireland on the M1. These roads are being designed to the highest international standards and are inherently safer than other road types.

7.The NRA anticipates significant safety dividends from the replacement of single carriageway roads by motorways and dual carriageways. The current programme should reduce annual road accident fatalities by over 50 compared with accident rates that would otherwise apply.

8.The NRA participated in a recent study that compared safety performance on Irish roads with that of other European countries. Among the findings of this study were that the death rate on Irish motorways was 2.3 per billion vehicle kilometres compared with 1.9 in Northern Ireland and Britain and 1.7 in the Netherlands and Sweden. Our fatal collision rate on single causeways was 11.5 compared with Northern Ireland at 12.4, Britain at 12.4 and Sweden at 7.7.

9.The Authority is introducing two plus one roads with wire road crash barrier separation in a number of pilot schemes. Early indicators are positive. However, significant differences between Swedish and Irish roads include traffic volumes as well as the frequency of accesses and junctions.

10.The Authority will complete the crash barriers on all motorways and dual carriageways by the end of 2006. All new motorway schemes since 2004 have safety barriers as standard.

11.The Authority considered installing crash barriers on single carriageways in Ireland as has been done in Sweden. However, it was found that the roads in Ireland generally have a large number of field gates, house entrances, entrances to commercial and other activities and minor road junctions per kilometre of road. These features severely limit the scope to undertake a crash barrier retrofit programme and also restrict the potential to adopt the two-plus-one solution.

12.An analysis of road accident data compiled from An Garda Síochána accident reports indicates that more than 50 per cent of all injury accidents occurred at junctions or involved turning movements onto/off roads.

13.The Authority supports a strategy that seeks to prevent a proliferation of roadside developments on national roads to which high speed limits apply (that is greater than 50 km per hour), as part of a broad-based strategy aimed at reducing fatalities on such roads.

14.The Authority would continue to give engineering-based road safety a high priority in the development and improvement of national roads.

Responses to Questions from the Members

Mr Egan stated in relation to the Fiddown scheme in Kilkenny that he was aware that there had been a number of fatalities on that road. The NRA analysis showed that it was debatable whether these were caused by the road or not. The NRA is now in the process of revisiting the issue and is converting the road to a two-plus-one road. People will be inconvenienced but accidents should reduce. In general, in relation to the fitting of many other roads with a crash barrier, the volume of traffic was not there to justify it. Mr Egan stated that speed limits were a matter for local authorities. A review is underway in relation to speed limits.

There was significant private sector interest in the provision of services on motorways. The NRA will actively seek out a number of sites for service areas.

A maintenance contract had been entered into to maintain the traffic calming areas throughout the country. There were two maintenance contracts nationally and the NRA was developing procedures to improve performance in relation to these issues.

Mr Egan stated that the proportion of fatalities on national roads was about 32—33 per cent. The NRA did not have a specific target to reduce the number of deaths. It was part of the national target of reducing road fatalities by 20 per cent but there was no specific target for national roads. The NRA would deliver on the specific targets that had been requested of it. The NRA had discussions with the Road Safety Authority which had recently been established. Non-national roads were supervised by the Department of the Environment and Local Government in consultation with the local authorities. The Department was seeking to identify accident black spots and to come to the aid of individual local authorities.

Sweden

The Swedish National Road Administration has pointed the way to improved safety for motor vehicles on roads. Among the measures being used are:

1.Roundabouts — An increasing number of intersections are being converted to roundabouts. These have a traffic-calming effect and help limit the seriousness of any collision that might occur.

2.Cable guard rails — The installation of steel cable guard rails catch hold of the car and prevent it from being deflected back into traffic.

3.Centre guard rails — Centre guard rails prevent head-on collisions, thereby making rural roads, of standard width, considerably safer.

4.Safe roadside areas — Trees, boulders, rigid posts, etc., can be fatal for anyone who should happen to drive off the road. Such fixed obstacles along roads should be removed.

5.Roadside guard rails — Guard rails have increasingly been set up along the side of the road in places where circumstances render it impossible to make the roadside areas safe.

Assessment

While, undoubtedly, most road accidents are caused by driver error, there is a need to ensure, so far as this is possible, that where a driver errs, the error will not result in the death of the driver or other road users. Good road engineering can ensure that it is not possible to drive into a tree or a lamppost or into an oncoming vehicle.

The development of the Irish motorways and their design to a high standard will undoubtedly contribute to a reduction in road fatalities. The development of dual carriageways should also make a similar contribution. The single carriageway national primary routes, however, are of considerable concern. In general, these are single carriageway roads that are not engineered to a high standard. The NRA has undertaken pilot schemes to establish the benefits or otherwise of the ‘two-plus-one’ roads that have been pioneered by Sweden. The advantage of these roads is that there is a barrier between each side, thus ensuring that head-on collisions do not occur.

The view of the NRA is that it is not possible to put in these systems on many primary Irish routes because of the large number of field gates, house entrances, entrances to commercial and other activities and minor road junctions. However, the overriding priority should be the prevention of fatalities and collisions and the convenience or otherwise of those who adjoin the national primary routes should be very much a secondary consideration.

Driver Fatigue

Driver error can come through fatigue, lack of concentration, being distracted, etc. It is important to ensure that drivers can fully concentrate on their task.

The Joint Committee is concerned that the design of the Irish motorways did not make provision for frequent rest-stops for motorists. Similarly, there is an absence of rest-stops on national primary routes. It is very important that if motorists feel tired or that they are losing concentration in any way, they can drive to a lay-by or service area for a period of time.

Road Safety Strategy

The Road Safety Strategy for 2004—2006 contains some measures for which the NRA is responsible. These include:

•low-cost remedial measures to be carried out at 240 locations on national roads and 400 locations on non-national roads

•a parallel programme of higher-cost accident remedial measures will be developed and carried out at 20 locations on the national road network

•traffic calming measures to be implemented at 60 locations on national roads.

As pointed out by Mr Egan to the Joint Committee, the National Roads Authority is responsible for only 6 per cent of the road network which contains 40 per cent of the traffic. The remaining 94 per cent of network is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

Targets

The National Roads Authority and every local authority in the country should have a specific target for the reduction of fatalities in their areas of responsibility. Undoubtedly, it has been very important for the National Roads Authority to develop the motorway network. This is of great national infrastructural importance. However, the Authority also has a responsibility for ensuring that its roads are as safe as possible. It is believed that the Authority should give a very high priority to a remedial programme on all national primary routes to ensure that trees, boulders, rigid posts, etc., are removed or surrounded by guard rails.

Consideration should also be given to inserting centre guard rails on all national and primary routes. It may be necessary, in many cases, that these would be on the basis of ‘two-plus-one’ roads. Given the greater safety record of dual carriageways as compared with ‘two plus one’ roads, it may be more economical to convert more of the national primary road network to dual carriageways than to the ‘two-plus-one’ road system.

Speed Limits

The general policy on speed limits is determined nationally. However, local authorities are responsible for the signposting of the speed limits and for the reduction in speed limits where appropriate (for example, close to a school or where a road is not of sufficient standard to justify the limit). The Minister for Transport has complained about the tardiness of local authorities in adjusting the general speed limits where these are required to be adjusted.

The National Roads Authority should be responsible for speed limit signs on all of the roads for which it has engineering responsibility.

Local authorities should, as has been seen, be responsible for bringing about specific reductions in the number of fatalities on the roads for which they are responsible. As part of their responsibility for road safety, they should also exercise urgently their functions in relation to the speed limits to ensure that the speed limits within their area are not excessive or likely to result in fatal collisions.

The National Roads Authority should consider the practicality of speed limit signs being electronically operated so that speed limits can be varied in the future. For example, in severe weather conditions, speed limits could be reduced. Speed limits could also be reduced at night. Furthermore, it may be possible for electronic signs to link with adaptive cruise control in cars so as to automatically adjust the maximum speed at which a car can drive, where the driver wishes to comply with the speed limits.

Recommendations

Having considered all of the above, the Joint Committee makes the following recommendations:

10.The next Road Safety Strategy should provide targets for reductions in the level of fatalities for the National Roads Authority and each local authority in the areas for which they are responsible.

11.The National Roads Authority should be responsible for the speed limits on all national routes, motorways and dual carriageways.

12.The National Roads Authority should urgently conduct a safety audit of all national roads, dual carriageways and motorways and institute a programme to remove, or surround with a guard rail, all items such as trees, lamp posts, bridges, drains etc which may bring about fatalities in the event of a crash by a motor vehicle.

13.The National Roads Authority should immediately make provision for lay-bys and service areas on all motorways, dual carriageways and national primary routes so as to assist drivers to take breaks and obtain food and beverages that would help to maintain their concentration on their driving.

14.The National Roads Authority should prepare a programme to convert all national primary roads into dual carriageways or ‘two plus one’ roads so that oncoming vehicles cannot crash into one another in those areas where there are not plans to upgrade the road to motorway standard.

9. Insurance Companies and Road Safety

Introduction

Insurance companies have an important role in relation to road safety. Two companies, in particular, are making a significant contribution: AXA, through its sponsorship of road safety advertising, and Hibernian, through its driver training programme. In addition, all insurance companies have no-claim bonuses which give a strong incentive to many people to avoid accidents. The question to be considered is whether insurance companies could make a greater contribution to road safety than they are presently making.

The following evidence was received by the Joint Committee. The insurance companies met the Joint Committee to discuss insurance reform in general. Part of their presentations and some of the questions asked by the members of the Joint Committee related to road safety.

Previous Recommendations on Road Safety to Insurance Companies

45Insurance companies should provide significant incentives/penalties to young drivers between the ages of 17 and 25 to use governor or cruise control limits in cars.

58In order to encourage drivers to stay within the speed limits, all insurance companies should be required to offer significant discounts to drivers who voluntarily accept monitoring of their speeds; these discounts to vary depending on the perceived risk and to be substantial for young drivers.

Evidence Received

Hibernian Insurance:

•On road safety, Hibernian stated that it was highly supportive. However, the Joint Committee should be aware of three points:

—drink driving — there was little enforcement and random breath tests did not have the support of a legal framework

—penalty points — the enforcement level has been minimal to date

—provisional licences — the backlog is getting longer.

Hibernian would encourage the Joint Committee to focus on these issues.

•There is a further potential to reduce premiums if:

—there is a massive increase in enforcement/random breath tests

—graduated driving licences are introduced

—there is a major investment in speed cameras.

•Hibernian is piloting a number of driver behaviour technologies which are available to it through its parent company, Aviva.

•The Hibernian ‘Ignition’ system had resulted in 50,000 persons undergoing training. Hibernian had found this to be very effective.

AXA Ireland:

The following points were made:

•The strategy for 2004—2006 had failed to achieve its main goals, primarily due to a lack of adequate enforcement.

•There was no need for further changes in the law. The issue was one of enforcement. Australia had shown that high levels of advertising and enforcement could reduce the level of accidents.

•A significant increase in resources is needed in the Gardaí and other agencies in order to enforce road safety standards.

•The money raised from stamp duty on motor insurance premiums, which was €34 million in 2005, could be used to fund these additional resources.

•AXA remains strongly committed to road safety and signed a new three year agreement with the National Safety Council, in November 2005, to sponsor high-profile road safety advertising campaigns.

•Unless enforcement increases, more people will be killed on the Irish roads. There could be up to 500 persons killed in 2006.

•The ‘Traksure’ satellite tracking system was introduced in 2001. At the time it was introduced, the premium for a young driver was €7,500. AXA was able to give a 40 per cent reduction to the drivers who undertook to be monitored by satellite in relation to speeds. However, as insurance premiums had fallen, it was no longer economical for young drivers to spend €1,300 to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in their premium.

•Claims frequencies have increased sharply since June 2004. They had risen from less than 0.6 per cent to in excess of 0.9 per cent by December 2005. This is a bad development in respect of future premium levels.

•In relation to the “Traksure” system, speed was only one of ten points in relation to their experience with young male drivers. Among the other points that were important were a lack of training, inexperience, etc.

Quinn Direct:

•On road safety, the frequency of accidents has increased over the last two years and road deaths remain a concern. There is no evidence that driver behaviour has really changed.

•On further premium reductions, there is a need for real enforcement of driving offences in relation to speed, penalty points, etc.

•In relation to Recommendation No. 45, Quinn Direct has not found it practical to implement this. They wanted to keep costs as low as possible. Even if the Recommendation is implemented, Quinn Direct would still be liable for third-party costs, irrespective of whether the policy holder has breached the speed limit. The reinforcement of speed limits needs to be achieved by increased policing.

•Quinn Direct already provides ‘generous no-claim bonuses’ for claim- and accident-free driving.

Questions and Comments by Members:

•Deputy Nolan asked whether, in view of the serious accidents caused by left-hand vehicles, the insurance companies applied any loading on left-hand drive cars that have been imported from outside the State. In his view there should be a substantial loading. As the danger was that drivers of left-hand vehicles, unless they had a front-seat passenger, had to move out to overtake. Consequently they are putting all road users in a very dangerous position.

•Deputy Dempsey raised the question of the problem of boy racers in rural areas at 3 a.m.—4 a.m. Is this contributing to accidents?

•As a former teacher, he believed there was a need for a driver theory programme in schools. In the Business Organisation course, insurance is covered as an issue. However, many students did not study Business Organisation. He asked if insurance companies could do more in respect of training at second level.

•He also asked if “Traksure” is viable.

•He further referred to the question of young boy racers, some of whom had mobile phone numbers painted on their cars so that they are contacted for races.

•He suggested that the insurance companies should sponsor courses in schools for the training of young drivers.

•The Chairman referred to the provision of satellite tracking. He asked if it had brought about improved driver behaviour.

The Insurance Companies Responded as Follows:

•Hibernian Insurance has a loading of 25 per cent for left-hand drive cars. However, Gardaí, were, through a loophole in the law, unable to seize a vehicle of a foreign national. Eastern European drivers had learned that they had certain rights. However, in general, the statistical evidence of high number of left-hand vehicles involved in accidents is very weak. Overtaking in a left-hand drive car is very dangerous. Perhaps the Committee would facilitate a reasonable approach on this issue.

•AXA urged caution in relation to black box technology. Some of the recent accidents had occurred at relatively low speeds. Nevertheless, such technology had benefits.

•AXA stated that a reduction in boy racers would result in more boy racers. Essentially, reducing the premiums of young drivers would bring about an increase in the number of young drivers and this, in turn, would lead to further road fatalities. AXA offered a no-claims discount of up to 70 per cent. AXA said that this is a free market and that it does not discriminate between left- and right-hand drivers in deciding on premiums.

•AXA stated the problem of boy racers did not show up in the statistics. Most of them are insured.

•Quinn Direct was considering a loading of 25—30 per cent for left-hand drive cars.

FBD Insurance:

Among the points made were the following:

•It has been widely acknowledged that there has been a major failure in relation to improving road safety. This failure hinges on lack of law enforcement and lack of resources. FBD has noted an upward trend in accident frequency in recent times.

•FBD is not providing incentives to encourage the use of governor or cruise control limits for vehicles, partly because they believe that they could be dangerous in particular driving situations. Similarly, FBD does not have any plans at present to implement a scheme of voluntary monitoring of speeds. They have not yet undertaken an assessment of the costs and benefits.

Assessment

The Joint Committee note that Hibernian is piloting a number of driver behaviour technologies that are available through its parent company, Aviva. Hibernian is also continuing with its ‘Ignition’ system which has resulted in 50,000 persons undergoing driver training.

Satellite Monitoring of Driver Speeds

The Joint Committee was hopeful that insurance companies would offer significant discounts to drivers who voluntarily accepted the monitoring of their speeds. The technology and system to monitor drivers’ speed was developed by AXA and appeared to the Joint Committee to be an excellent way of ensuring that young persons stayed within the speed limit. However, the insurance companies, including AXA, appear reluctant to further develop this system because of the fall in insurance premiums. The newly established Road Safety Authority might consider whether the use of this technology could reduce fatalities.

Driving Instruction Prior to the Grant of a Licence

The Joint Committee is recommending that no one should receive a provisional driving licence unless they have received driving instruction from an approved driving instructor. The Joint Committee also considers that no insurance company should grant insurance cover to a person on a provisional licence unless they have completed a course of instruction from a suitably qualified driving instructor. In addition, the Joint Committee considers that, if the other insurance companies adopted the approach of Hibernian in relation to the training of young drivers, that this would be an excellent development.

In general, the problem ages are up to 25. The no-claims bonus can be a reasonable incentive to persons over 25 to avoid accidents. However, for new drivers and young people in general, but particularly young male drivers, the existence or not of a no-claims bonus may be of no significance. Insurance companies can, through their pricing of insurance for drivers in this age category, bring about a major change in young driver competence and capacity to avoid accidents.

Governor or Cruise Control Limits on Cars

The Joint Committee also recommended that insurance companies should provide significant incentives/penalties to young drivers to use governor/speed limiters in their vehicles. These governors are now required in certain types of public service vehicle. Again, the insurance companies have not accepted or implemented this recommendation.

The Joint Committee accepts that there may be a difficulty with installation of governors on cars that prevent motor vehicles going above certain speed levels where the car is also used by parents who may have full licences. If the motor vehicles are fitted with a governor that prevents speeds in excess of the predetermined limit, this would pose difficulties when young people are not using their own vehicle.

However, where a person on a provisional licence owns their own car and voluntarily fits a governor that will not permit the car to exceed, say, 50 kph (30 mph), then an incentive might be offered.

The issue of cruise control may now be better addressed by the Road Safety Authority. In essence, if the assumption is that most persons wish to comply with speed limits, the requirement to provide cruise controls in all motor vehicles would greatly assist compliance. This would reduce unnecessary enforcement measures that waste the time of the Gardaí and the Courts. The Joint Committee will address this recommendation to the Road Safety Authority.

Incentives for Safety Features on Cars

Insurance companies can give an allowance that would encourage safety features on motor vehicles. SIMI stated that such allowances were given by insurance companies in the UK.

Black Box/EDR

A ‘Black Box’ or ‘Event Data Recorder’ (EDR) system, the Joint Committee was informed, could be provided to Ireland without any investment by the Irish Government. The EDR is the size of a cigarette package and is inserted in the vehicle. This enables, through magnetic activity, the recording of all relevant data when a crash occurs.

If the Government decided to install a system in approximately 55,000 public vehicles, then the system could be operational by February 2007.

Essentially, the system involves the establishment of a call centre, which would receive electronic signals from a crashed vehicle and retransmit the signal to the emergency services, to the insurance company, and to the Road Safety Authority (for statistical purposes).

The AAA in New York has signed an agreement with Safety Vault Holdings (Vault) to install the system from February 2007. The AAA is establishing its own insurance company for drivers, having been a broker until now. One of the conditions of providing insurance to driver members will be the acceptance by the members of the Vault black box. The system will also be working in February 2007 for the taxi and limousine services in New York City and also in Italy. If a system were installed in Ireland, Ireland would become the European office of Vault.

The black boxes used to cost €1,000. They are now coming down to €170. In a year’s time Vault expects that the cost will be €100.

Essentially the black box provides an Electronic Data Report (EDR). The advantage to an insurance company of this system is that premiums can be charged on the basis of actual crash information. Participating insurance companies will have a competitive advantage. It also eliminates some fraud which saves on defence costs.

An EDR system could save 20 per cent of lives each year because of the faster response by emergency services during the ‘golden hour’ which is critical for the protection of lives.

Safety Data Vault Holdings works in partnership with IBM who would have responsibility for the operation of the system. Essentially, the insurance companies would pay for the system by being charged for a crash report. There will be additional installation in the vehicle costs. There are many services available but the critical ones are the crash reports and the information to the emergency services. There can be a menu of services. Data privacy can be fully protected. It will be the driver’s option whether or not to add additional services.

If established, the call centre in Dublin would cater for all of Europe. In addition to the sending of data to insurance companies, the EMS and the Road Safety Authority, information could be provided to car manufacturers in a format that does not divulge personal data.

The car manufacturers already have the technology but cannot use it because of concerns about data protection and because there is no central system of electronically transmitting the data. Seventy per cent of all new cars are already computerised. The CIREN system has been set up at NHTSA with a view to accessing the data coming from manufacturers’ black boxes.

If the car industry eventually comes on board with this new system, the black boxes can be fitted at a cost of $1, because the manufacturers are currently installing black boxes but not making the information available to anyone else.

The EDR (Electronic Data Recorder) can be used for motorcycle crashes also. Vault had developed a system that was waterproof.

Assessment

The Joint Committee has also had proposals from the University of Iowa and Meta System of Italy in relation to the supply of ‘black boxes’.

The fixing of a black box in a motor vehicle is only the first part of the system that would bring about, the Joint Committee believes, substantial benefits.

The most important part of the system is the ability of the EDRs to communicate with a communications centre and for the communications centre to pass on the information obtained to the appropriate authorities.

The proposal put forward to the delegation was that a system could be set up in Ireland whereby the black box would be fitted in all public service vehicles and the operators of the system would have the ability to sell its services to insurance companies and others.

The system would provide instantaneous information, where a crash occurs, to a number of parties:

•the emergency services would be notified of the crash, the location, and certain other key information that would enable them to respond quickly

•the insurance company of the driver would be notified of the crash and of the reasons for it

•statistics would be provided to the Road Safety Authority with the crash details and the reason for the crash.

In addition, information could also be provided to motor manufacturers if the crash was in any way related to faults in the vehicle or the non-provision of facilities in the vehicle.

The cost of instituting an electronic data recorder system in Ireland to the tax payer will be minimal. It is clear that the institution of such a system would have significant benefits, in relation to:

1.The emergency services. The emergency services would be able to come to the accident scene more quickly, thus saving lives.

2.Insurance companies. They would have a detailed crash report without having to engage their own staff to undertake studies and wait for forms to be completed by the drivers or owners of the car.

3.The Road Safety Authority. Much more accurate statistics on the crash would be made available to the Authority. This would allow it to take countermeasures to prevent similar accidents happening in the future.

In addition to all of the above, it is possible that the insertion of an EDR in a motor vehicle would influence driver behaviour. Drivers would have a sense of being supervised and know that, if an accident happens, the full reasons for the accident, including driver behaviour, will be recorded.

The Joint Committee believes that the institution of a system of EDR with the attendant call centre has the capacity to save lives in the short term and to make a further contribution to the reduction of insurance costs in the long term.

Development of an EDR System

The first stage would be installing the system in all publicly owned and contracted vehicles as soon as possible. The supplier of the equipment and the operator of the system would be sought by public tender. While the contract for the supply of public vehicles might need to be an exclusive contract for, say, five years, in order to make it profitable for the winning bidder to establish the infrastructure and to develop the system, it should be a condition of any contract awarded that the winning bidder would co-operate with other similar operators of systems that might be established on the initiative of insurance companies or others.

Recommendations

The Joint Committee recommends as follows:

15The Department of Transport should procure an Electronic Data Recorder (EDR) or “Black Box” system for Ireland, by seeking proposals to install EDRs in all publicly owned and publicly contracted vehicles at the earliest possible date, to provide information to the emergency services, insurance companies, the Road Safety Authority and others through a communications centre.

16Insurance companies should cooperate with the establishment of an electronic data recorder system so as to improve their knowledge of the reasons for road accidents and to enable them to compete more effectively for motor insurance business in the future.

17Insurance companies should give a discount on premiums to policy-holders who voluntarily install an EDR.

18Insurance companies should not grant insurance cover to a person who has not received driving instruction from a qualified driving instructor.

19Insurance companies should structure their offers of insurance for persons up to age 25 to strongly encourage young persons to drive safely and avoid accidents.

20Insurance companies should provide, or arrange to provide, driving instruction and advanced driving instruction for persons from 17 to 25 in order for the young persons to obtain a reduction in the cost of insurance.

21Insurance companies should offer persons who have been found to be driving in excess of the blood alcohol limit, a choice of fitting an alcohol detector or a loading of their premium.

22Insurance companies should give allowances that would encourage safety features on motor vehicles.

23The Road Safety Authority should consider making it a requirement that all new cars supplied to the Irish market would have cruise control capacity.

10. Enforcement

Introduction

The Joint Committee made a number of recommendations on enforcement in its three previous Reports.

15.Penalty points should be extended to all motoring offences affecting road safety as quickly as possible and all the necessary infrastructure of IT systems should be put in place to achieve this.

16.All speed cameras should be operated by An Garda Síochána.

17.A dedicated traffic corps within An Garda Síochána should be established at the earliest opportunity with a view to increasing the enforcement of road traffic regulations and reducing deaths and injuries on the roads.

44The Government should give priority to the speedy enactment of the Road Traffic Bill and the Driver, Testing and Standards Authority Bill.

54.The Government should consider holding a Constitutional Referendum to permit random testing for substance abuse that may be impairing a driver’s ability to drive safely.

Most of these recommendations have been accepted. However, one very important Act, the Road Traffic Act 2006 only came into force on 21 July 2006.

Road Traffic Corps

Another important development has been the establishment of a dedicated Traffic Corps within An Garda Síochána. The Traffic Corps now has a compliment of 680 Gardaí with an additional 120 members to be allocated during the remainder of 2006. It will have a total compliment of 1,200 by 2008.

Enforcement Activities

The increased resources now being devoted to road traffic enforcement have permitted an increase in Garda traffic enforcement activities.

Comparison between first six Months of 2006 and the first six Months of 2005

A Garda statement of 12 July 2006 shows that from the commencement of the fixed charge penalty system (FCPS) on 3 April 2006 to the end of June 2006, a total of 93,279 FCPS notices were issued for a wide variety of offences. These offences included failure to wear seat belts, careless driving, tailgating, overtaking on a continuous white line, etc. During the period April to June, 2006, a total of 46,000 drivers were detected exceeding the speed limit and FCPS notices were issued. According to the Garda statement, some 2 per cent of Garda enforcement takes place on motorway or dual carriageway type of roads and 98 per cent of enforcement activity takes place on primary and secondary roads throughout the country.

Importance of Enforcement

The Joint Committee was told by a NHTSA official that, in NHTSA’s experience, the greatest reduction in road fatalities comes about from intensive enforcement of the rules of the road, particularly those relating to drunken driving, speeding and the wearing of seat belts. A very similar message was received from the doctorate students at the University of Maryland, who not only concluded that increased enforcement of the rules of the road was most likely to bring about a reduction in road fatalities, but argued that there was no cost to the State in increasing enforcement as increased enforcement would bring about revenue from fines. The Chief of the Nashville Police also demonstrated very clearly that increased levels of enforcement of the traffic rules brought about a reduced level of collisions.

Road Traffic Act 2006

Undoubtedly, until the passing of the Road Traffic Act 2006, the Gardaí had a difficulty in enforcing the drink driving legislation because they had to form an opinion that a person had consumed alcohol in excess of the blood alcohol limit before requesting that a breathalyser test be taken. The new Act empowers the Gardaí to operate random checkpoints whereby all drivers can be checked. This should make enforcement of drink driving legislation much more effective. In addition, the introduction of a fixed fine and six months’ removal of a licence, without involvement with the Court, should also be beneficial from an enforcement perspective. The extension of the penalty point system to all offences having an impact on road safety should, in time, also bring about an improvement in compliance with the road safety regulations.

Perception of Drivers

Nevertheless, for a number of reasons, it appears that car drivers have gained a perception that they are unlikely to be caught if they breach the rules of the road. There is a need, therefore, to increase the intensity of enforcement for about a year until the perception is gained that the chances of being caught are high. When public attitudes to breaches of the rules of the road change the enforcement intensity can be reduced. However, it will always be necessary to have a high level of enforcement.

Engineering Changes can help with Enforcement

In practice, even with a major effort on enforcement being made over the next year, it will not be possible to have a member of An Garda on every road or at every street corner. It is important that the road systems and motor vehicle systems should assist drivers to comply with the law. Examples of this are:

1.Require that cruise control limits be installed in cars and that they can be adjusted electronically on the passing of electronic signs. This should improve the compliance of those who wish to comply with the speeding laws and decrease the need for Garda intervention.

2.Make it a requirement that seat belts be fastened before the vehicle can be switched on. Again, this would ensure compliance of drivers and passengers with the seat belt law and remove the need for enforcement of that law.

3.Make ‘alcohol locks’ a requirement in motor vehicles so as to ensure that persons who have taken alcohol are unable to start the car. Again this would reduce the level of driving under the influence and reduce the need for enforcement.

4.By adopting the two-plus-one road system or by providing for centre guard rails, drivers will not be able to move into an oncoming lane. This will reduce the need for the enforcement of the rules on changing lanes.

Therefore, by specifying requirements in relation to motor vehicles and by improving standards of road engineering, it is possible to reduce the level of Garda enforcement that is necessary. This will allow resources to be deployed on the relatively small number of drivers who contravene the rules.

Speed Cameras

The Road Traffic Act 2006 makes provision for the outsourcing of the service in relation to the deployment of speed cameras throughout the country. The service will be under the direction of An Garda. The way is now open for An Garda Síochána or the Department of Justice Equality and Law reform to procure the cameras and the systems that will enable a very large number of speeding offences to be recorded and points to be updated. The deployment of these cameras, if properly carried out, should reduce significantly the level of driving in excess of the speed limit. It is essential that these cameras be deployed as soon as possible in order to reduce the level of road fatalities.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs

The Automobile Association of America has concluded that many of those who are driving under the influence have an alcohol problem, but are unaware of it. Many others, of course, do not have an alcohol problem but take in excess of the permitted level and take a risk on being able to drive the motor vehicle. It is now possible to fit an alcohol lock on motor vehicles. There should be some system whereby those who drive in excess of the alcohol limit are required to undertake counselling or to be examined with a view to advising them on whether or not they have a problem with alcohol.

Assistance for Enforcement

In Illinois there is a system whereby doctors or other persons such as a concerned parent can report a driver to the police if they consider that there may be good reasons why that person should not be allowed to drive a motor vehicle. Examples of this would be where it was thought that the driver had:

•an alcohol problem

•a problem with illegal drugs

•uses prescription drugs that result in a loss of concentration

•an illness that increases the risks associated with driving.

For any of these reasons, a report can be made to the enforcement authorities. This will allow the licence holder to be called in for a medical examination. The person reporting is assured of anonymity and immunity from prosecution for his/her action in reporting the driver.

Assistance of the Public

An Garda Síochána has a dedicated telephone line for the reporting of incidents of aggressive driving directly to the Gardaí (1890 205 805). It has been reported in the media that this line was not adequately serviced for some time but that this difficulty has been remedied. This number should be widely publicised and used as a means of obtaining the assistance of law-abiding motorists to help the Gardaí in enforcing the Road Traffic Laws.

Assistance of Professional Drivers

The Joint Committee was informed by the Tennessee Trucking Association that its members had a dedicated telephone line and a personal code to enable them to report incidents of suspicious or dangerous activity to the Highway Patrol. In general, professional drivers (truck drivers, van drivers, taxi drivers, private hire drivers, bus drivers, etc.) take great pride in their driving and are acutely aware of the unlawful behaviour of others. If an arrangement can be made that will harness their knowledge and experience, then the task of ensuring compliance with the law will be greatly eased.

Mobile Phones

The Road Traffic Act 2006 prohibits the holding of a mobile phone by a driver of a vehicle, but the Act does not prohibit the actual use of a mobile phone by the driver if it is hands-free.

The Joint Committee was informed by NADS at the University of Iowa that they had undertaken research into the use of mobile phones in motor vehicles. Their conclusion was that the issue was one of distraction. They found it made no difference to the possibility of an accident whether a mobile phone was held in the hand or operated on a hands-free basis.

While the Joint Committee is not going to recommend a change in the law at this early date, it is suggested that the Road Safety Authority publicity in relation to mobile phones should give the message that mobile phones should not be used while driving. Mobile phones in motor vehicles could have a pre-recorded message that would inform the caller that the mobile phone user is driving at present and will call back as soon as possible.

Boy Racers/Souped-up Cars

Members of the Joint Committee have had complaints about the activities of boy racers in ‘souped-up’ cars. However, the insurance companies are not aware at this stage of this being a problem. It was pointed out by AXA that the reduction in insurance costs for young people, brought about by competition, has made insurance affordable for them. SIMI stated that, in some countries, special provision is made for young persons who wish to race their cars or display enhancements to their vehicles. Special provision could include tracks that are dedicated for such use where there would be no danger to other persons.

As boy racer activities are likely to grow with the increased number of vehicles on the road and increasing prosperity, it is suggested that this problem needs to be addressed, not only through enforcement, but through the provision of special activities for the young people concerned.

Records and Control of Motor Vehicles and Drivers

At the end of December 2004 there were 2.036 million licensed vehicles on Irish roads. It is likely that there are now about 2.25 million vehicles. Of the 2.036 million vehicles, 1.582 million were private cars, 268,000 were goods vehicles, 67,500 agricultural tractors and 34,900 motorcycles. In 2004 almost 200,000 new vehicles were licensed.

The maintenance of national records on the motor vehicle database is, therefore, a very onerous task. The database is needed for annual motor tax payment purposes, and, importantly, for insurance purposes.

Each local authority benefits from motor registration tax. It is possible for persons to tax their motor vehicles in Local Authority offices throughout the country. In addition, a Central Registration Office has been established at Shannon — Motor Tax Online. Persons renewing their vehicle registration tax through this system are asked to give the name of their insurance company but there is no check being made that the car is actually insured.

As the vehicles are required to display both a motor tax registration disc and an insurance disc, the additional check, that has traditionally been made, that a car, on registration renewal, is actually insured, is no longer being carried out. In evidence to the Joint Committee, the insurance companies stated that they would co-operate with the Motor Tax Online service so that checks could be made on whether the vehicles were insured or not.

The enforcement of a system to ensure that each vehicle is taxed, insured and tested is now heavily dependent upon visual checks made by Gardaí throughout the country. These checks can be made while the car is parked or as part of a planned checkpoint.

The control of all motor vehicles is of particular importance in relation to imported vehicles and vehicles imported for temporary use such as by non-resident immigrants. At present this control is effectively managed by the Gardaí. If this control could be a civilian process of checking that all registered vehicles pay their annual registration tax, are insured and have had their NCT test, this might reduce the enforcement burden on the Gardaí.

A similarly large database is needed to maintain information on persons licensed to drive, their penalty points, convictions, etc.

It is essential that the time of the Gardaí that could be devoted to road safety issues should not be diverted to carrying out a function that could be carried out satisfactorily by civilian personnel. However, the control of vehicles is an important part of road safety in general. It is important to know which vehicles have been in collisions, when the NCT Tests are being carried out, etc. It may also be necessary in future to know which vehicles have electronic data recorders installed and the particular safety features that apply in the vehicle. Similarly, information on drivers is essential to maintain full control of the driver licensing system.

It is necessary to have a tight control of this area to ensure that there is an absence of fraud in the preparation of registration discs, insurance discs and NCT tests.

Recommendations

24Enforcement of the road traffic rules relating to potential fatalities should be intensified for the next year.

25Priority should be given to bringing additional speed cameras into operation throughout the country.

26The Gardaí should actively seek to obtain assistance from the public and professional drivers (for example, the drivers of road haulage vehicles) in the detection of drivers who may be contravening the traffic laws.

27The Minister for Transport should consider how the requirements of boy racers might be met by the provision of special facilities with a view to removing the boy racers from the public roads and housing estates where they are engaging in anti-social behaviour.

11. Miscellaneous

Emergency Services

The Joint Committee delegation received a presentation at NHTSA on the emergency medical services. This was pioneered in the United States on a national basis by NHTSA with the use of the 911 number.

The involvement of the emergency medical services with the NHTSA is because of the importance of having medical help available to those who are injured in road accidents as quickly as possible. The delegation was told that the first hour after the accident is the most important in terms of bringing the injured persons to hospital.

The Joint Committee has received no representations that the emergency medical services in Ireland are inadequate. However the Joint Committee’s recommendation in relation to the electronic data recorder should bring about an improvement in the speed of response to a road accident. If this is achieved, fatalities due to road accidents will be reduced.

Road Safety Campaigns

The very high level of fatalities presently experienced on Irish roads requires a response from all drivers but also other persons or organisations that can assist the Road Safety Authority in bringing about a significant reduction in the level of fatalities. The Joint Committee was informed by the Tennessee Trucking Association of the work that they undertake with, and on behalf of, their members in relation to road safety. Road safety is of critical importance for those involved in the trucking or road haulage business and similar organisations in Ireland might usefully examine the support being given for road safety by the Tennessee Trucking Association and other similar associations in the United States.

In addition, the Joint Committee, in its meeting with the AAA in New York, was informed of the work done by the AAA in relation to road safety. The AAA has established a road safety research unit and undertakes surveys. It also makes presentations in schools and other organisations on road safety. The Automobile Association in Ireland and other driver organisations might consider whether they should undertake similar activities in Ireland.

This Report has already noted the contributions that are being made by some insurance companies to road safety. Recommendations have been made to them on further work they might do in this area.

The SIMI represents the motor vehicle manufacturers and distributors in Ireland. Motor vehicle manufacturers bear a heavy responsibility for the level of fatalities. SIMI should consider, in consultation with its members, whether it can initiate activities that will bring about an improvement in road safety and a reduction in fatalities.

Recommendation

28Motor manufacturers and the sellers of motor vehicles including sellers of second hand vehicles should make a much greater contribution to ensuring the safe use of their products in Ireland.

29The Automobile Association and other Irish motoring organisations should consider what contribution they could make to reducing fatalities on Irish roads.

12. Conclusions

The only appropriate target for Ireland in relation to road fatalities is to work and plan to bring about the conditions that will permit zero fatalities.

Of course, this is very unlikely to ever be achieved but there must be no acceptance that any level of fatalities is satisfactory.

In the short term, the target must be to reduce the level of fatalities to that experienced in the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The example of these countries shows that it is possible to bring about a meaningful reduction in the level of fatalities.

As part of the process of bringing about this reduction, it will be necessary to achieve a culture of safe driving among all of those who hold driving licences. Contravening the road traffic rules by speeding, taking alcohol, not using seat belts, and other similar requirements must be considered by the public to be unacceptable behaviour.

This report points out that, while Garda enforcement can bring about a significant reduction in the number of fatalities, it cannot alone reduce the number of fatalities to the level experienced in countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Garda enforcement must be assisted by significantly better-engineered roads, better-engineered cars and the co-operation of the public and representative organisations.