What do you think is the single biggest factor that contributes to road accidents in Ireland?

# 191

Posted: 26/04/2007 08:15

Bad Roads, Bad behaviour, Left hand driven cars, Drivers from other countries that are used to driving on the 'other' side, Drink, Drugs, Mobile phone useage - L Drivers driving alone, defective vehicles, Aggression, not in any particular order. More Laws will not change anything only make it more punitive for your normal car user whilst those that do not care will still adhere to their policies. Bottom line here is that we need someone to stand on the roads and haul in those with defective lights, mucky rgistration plates which avoid camera detection, cameras in bus lane to take registration numbers etc.etc. Its quite wearysome out there on the roads. But then more attention and money is spent in this area to try and prevent 400/500 deaths a year, and we have the same number of deaths each year with Suicide and not a fraction of the same money is spent in this area. Oh, I can feel a depression coming on in thinking how we are in this Celtic Tiger Economy. I had the misfortune to attending with my sister in A&E some weeks ago, I had to stand beside her for 10 hours, there was no chair available, this of course is all about me...she was seen to eventually, thats another story!!! what I saw that day sickened me to my stomach, men and women on trollies down the hallways of St.James's Hospital. O God, help us, and this is 'first' world. Surely it would not be much different in a 'third' world????
Good, I feel somewhat better getting out those thoughts!!
Let not any politician come to my door.

Maura

# 190

Posted: 25/04/2007 16:58

Personally I think many drivers have learning difficulties. If you do not understand that driving at high speeds, drinking and driving, taking drugs and driving and using a mobile phone and driving is extreemly dangerous then their has to be a problem with your comprehension and understanding of how to drive safely on the roads. Statistics show that these are some of the more common causes of fatal road accidents yet people still engage in these very dangerous behaviours. It must come down to their inability to understand the danger they put themselves in and more importantly other people in when they engage in this reckless behaviour. Its absolute madness that so many people get killed on our roads eaach year simply because other people do not have the ability to understand that their actions are extremely dangerous.

# 189

Posted: 25/04/2007 16:17

Boy racers and others with their big fancy cars! These people only look after themselves no consideration for others.my advice to anyone driving is keep an eye for the oncoming traffic cause you don't know when some tool will try and overtake on a dangerous stretch and wham into you that was doing nothing wrong..

# 188

Posted: 12/03/2007 15:00

Badly trained drvers,very bad roads & signage & reckless speeding on our roads

# 187

Posted: 10/03/2007 21:45

aacombination of speed,badly trained drivers & the worst roads in the eu

# 186

Posted: 23/01/2007 16:40

Any vehicle with a trasiler, plus coaches are prohibited from exceeding 80k. They are also prohibited from using the RH lane on motorways.
Half the "gards" don't know how to read the tachographs(which could be taken as an indication of their intelligence). The other half can't be bothered to, maybe because the courts hand down such trivial fines !.
There are only about 5 offences that ARE enforced to any degree. 1) Drunk driving 2) Illegal parking(that doesn't mean dangerous, just in places marked as prohibited!). 3) Tax. 4) Insurance. and occasionally, 5) Speeding...as in exceeding the speed limit..not driving too fast for the conditions, or the road. Even then, doing 100k on a country road(where the limit is now 80) isn't likely to be penalised

# 185

Posted: 23/01/2007 13:40

Bear, lorry drivers can still be prosecuted if the tacograph shows them doing over 50mph (80kph) as this is the top speed limit that lorries are permitted to travel regardless of any road. There can still be successful prosecutions brought if tacographs show higher speeds which will more often than not be the case. On open roads, I rarely see lorries travelling at or below the 80kph speed limit.

# 184

Posted: 19/01/2007 19:17

My reference to "R" drivers implied that there should be such a category, and my comment about fast driving meant that on an open road, in good conditions...someone doing 140k is likely to be less likely to cause an accident than an inexperienced driver doing 80k on a winding country road, or weaving in and out through traffic.
I wouldn't say that my reactions are better than most..but that I drive at a speed appropriate for the conditions. I wonder..the majority who voted "for" speeding...do they mean exceeding the speed limit, or excessive speed for the situation. The former is a technical offense, the latter is just poor judgement, which manifests itself in many different ways.

# 183

Posted: 19/01/2007 08:35

Skein, I'm not sure where you're coming from but there are no 'R' drivers in this country. Once you are qualified, you are qualified.
As for doubling penalty points. Surely, these should be lower for L drivers as they are only learning or they should just recieve a warning the first time.

SPEED KILLS.

While you may be excellent at driving at high speed with good reactions, can you be certain that everyone else on the road is, as well?

# 182

Posted: 18/01/2007 19:04

I think JULES is getting mixed up,
Quote: Some Lorries have a maximum speed, which is monitored.
All new cars should have a monitor on board, if they exceed this limit it should be registered at the garda station.

This is the tachograph in lorries, and it is not avtualy monitored, the garda can check it when they stop a lorrie at a check point, but up to a short time ago, even if they saw that you had went over the speed limit they could not summons you. This has to do with where you were on the road when you were over the limit. Because to issue you with a traffic summons they must have the location you were when the offence was commited, "Townsland name for example" They can however summons you for over hours driving.
A tachograph combines the functions of a clock and a speedometer. Fitted to a motor vehicle, a tachograph will record not only the vehicle's speed but also the length of time that it is moving or stationary. The mechanical tachograph writes on a round piece of paper which constantly turns throughout the work day. The marker moves nearer to or further from the center according to the driving speed. An entire rotation encompasses 24 hours.
Analogue tachographs record the driver’s periods of duty on a waxed paper disc. However, these are vulnerable to tampering, and so are being replaced by digital tachographs which record data on smart cards.
These can be a godsend or the opposite in the event of an accident. It can prove the speed you were doing, and using special equipment see how many yards it took you to stop.

Brid's Comment:
Quote:It cannot, BY LAW be destroyed as it is not the property of the state but of an independant citizen - and I'm sure the Garda are under-resourced as it is without paying out tens of thousands to people for destroying their property.

This is not true, when your car is impounded, it costs you a certain figure to retrieve your car/lorrie, if this figure is not paid within the period laid down the car will be crushed. The vehicle is considered to be no longer your property. The impound the the garda have in my area has a crusher on site, they use a portion of a scrap yards premises. I know of many people that had their cars crushed, simply because the car they owned was not worth the recovery and impound fee. When the the guarda relieve you of your car, they use a local recovery service to bring it to "their" compound, and you have to pay for this as well as your retrieval fine.

# 181

Posted: 18/01/2007 17:31

1) Insurance companies should offer a reduced fee for L drivers who undertake to drive ONLY with a "qualified" driver.
2) Insurance disks should be of different colours to indicate a) One of these drivers b) A vehicle that has been declared as a modified vehicle...many boy/girl racers modify their vehicles without informing their insurance company. c) Drivers of less than a year "qualified"(R drivers).
Penalty points should be quadrupled for L's, and doubled for R's.
Unfortunately, by allowing drivers to drive unsupervised has bred a generation of poor drivers..they don't have the hours undersupervision to form good habits. Now, because of the general poor quality of driving, even under supervision, new drivers don't learn properly.
The "gards" and the government are only paying lip-service to the problem. While speed contributes to accidents, in the right hands, it is not dangerous. Not carrying your driving license, or not wearing seatbelts doesn't even contribute to the causes, while faulty, or non/mis-use of lights, bald tyres, and simply not paying attention is almost completely ignored.

# 180

Posted: 18/01/2007 16:02

Anne, he part about your insurance is not true as a matter of fact. it is only if the insurance company can have it independantly proven that something would should have been corrected in order to pass the NCT was the cuase of the accident.

Ah yes Anne, the 'donuts, we have them at all three crossroads in out own (very small) village and it has been reported to the guards but to no avail.

It would be legally impossible for the insurance company to refuse them insurance as well as leaving them open to discrimation threats. The extra safety test (whatever it might be) is also not a legal requirment.
It is to be rememebered, Insurance companies operate for a profit.
Besides a full license does not seem to stop their stupidity - this I know. And they seem well able to pay the huge premia heaped on them due to their age.

# 179

Posted: 17/01/2007 21:46

Jules, I am also as confused as Brid on your posting.
What exactly are you saying about NCT's?
There is an NCT database in place. When your NCT is due you get a letter to inform you and you are required to have this test done. If you don't, the NCT database will show up that you have not had the test.
Even if you don't have the test within the required time, when you do have the test, it is backdated to the date that it was first needed.
Finally, its nobody elses but your own loss if you don't have the NCT. If you don't have the NCT done and you are involved in an accident, then your insurance will be null and void ie. No cover.

NCT's have absolutely nothing to do with road deaths. Speeding does.
Young kids in ultra fast killing machines who are certainly not drinking and driving because they spend their money on other (illegal) drugs and nothing is in place to stop this happening.
The only reason that country roads come into the equation is because these roads are much preferred for 'rally driving' than long straight roads.
In my own village I am sick and tired of listening to them, with their modified cars, screaming around the roads at nights and even doing doughnuts in the middle of a main road.
Everyone sees the results on the roads in the mornings including the police but nobody seems to be able to do anything to stop them.
Insurance companies could stop this over night if they refused to insure drivers under a certain age who do not have a full licence and an extra safety test.
Its easier to pick on the old lad coming home from the pub with a pint or 2 on board who is harming no one.
Its nothing to do with safety, its all to do with easy targets.

# 178

Posted: 17/01/2007 11:07

Do you really think an NCT is going to prevent accidents? How naieve.
"Transfer of ownership and NCt'S WHERE NO NCT IS BOOKED FOR 3 MONTHS."
What are you talking about exactly?
No NCT doesn't stop you getting insurance. It is not the job of the insurance company to monitor NCTs.
If a vehicle has no insurance, it is impounded as this is against the law. It cannot, BY LAW be destroyed as it is not the property of the state but of an independant citizen - and I'm sure the Garda are under-resourced as it is without paying out tens of thousands to people for destroying their property.

# 177

Posted: 17/01/2007 05:26

Some Lorries have a maximum speed, which is monitored.

All new cars should have a monitor on board, if they exceed this limit it should be registered at the garda station.

All older car, should have this system implemented when going for an Nct, BUT THIS HAS TO BE SUPPLEMENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT).

1) This will not solve the problems on our Country Roads, this needs to be looked out.

2) The Garda must implement Cars that have not been put through for an NCT.

This is going to involve more resources for the Garda, but at the end of the day, if the Garda can Identify, vechicles that have no NCT.

The Garda, needs to identify no NCT, not talking about car owners where NCT is Due.

Transfer of ownership and NCt'S WHERE NO NCT IS BOOKED FOR 3 MONTHS.

THESE SHOULD BE CHECKED, AND IF FOUND NO INSURANCE THE VECHICLE SHOULD BE DESTROYED.

JULES

# 176

Posted: 14/01/2007 16:01

speeding boy racers at 2am at weekends

# 175

Posted: 04/10/2006 19:55

A few comments regarding driving in general in Ireland:
1. The Driving test is a joke. EG In my home town there is constant gridlock. People come for their driving test they spend the first five minutes on theory. Another five minutes looking under the bonnet and checking lights. They are then taken out for the road test. This lasts for thirty to forty minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of this is spent sitting in the traffic. So the actual test lasts around twenty minutes out one road, back in another. No dual carriageway, no slip roads, no big roundabouts. And no night driving test. So twenty minutes of driving in a 50/60km zone determines if someone is capable of going out on to the highways and byways of the country.
2. We should have a system like Australia: IE: you go from an L plate to an R plate then in twelve months you go for a second test. This would encourage new drivers to be on their best behaviour while waiting for their test.
3. Also we need a lot more unmarked Garda cars with on board cameras moving up and down our roads and then they will see the idiots doing the stupid and dangerous manoeuvres.

# 174

Posted: 04/10/2006 19:02

Today's observations. Vandriver, one foglight, holding a phone to his ear. Learner up me arse at 120k on the motorway. Driver gesturing with both hands to his passenger. Multiple "failure to indicate" when turning, and/or changing lanes. But nothing that my almost 30 years of driving experience in Ireland, UK, France, Spain, America etc didn't prepare me for. These incidents require ALL of us to make MUCH more allowance for the unexpected. Oil/loose chippings on the road. Idiots other than ourselves doing stupid things. Recognising the signs that they are about to do something silly. US idiots doing stupid things. !! I do it too sometimes, but only experience allows recovery without major problems. One being..look through over, or around the car in front of you...and the one in front of them, to see when the traffic is going to suddenly slow.............be aware of who is behind, or about to overtake you. Indicate (in good time, but not so much so as to cause confusion)EVERY time you want to change your lateral position on the road. If traffic is heavy, someone will drop back to make space for you. In light traffic, it lets others know what your intentions are, rather than confirming that you intended to do what you already ARE doing.
SOme of this requires that you THINK...it is good exercise for the brain too ;-)

# 173

Posted: 04/10/2006 17:08

Hi all ,I think they should put only 60 miles on cars that they cant go any faster then 60-putting like 150 miles on a car when your only allowed to do 60 at the most-so knock off the other 90 miles off the clock and only put 60 miles on,then speed will have to reduce.

# 172

Posted: 18/09/2006 15:32

couldn't care-less ness. about road markings, stop-lines, no-parking, using indicators, vehicle maintainnnce(esp; lights). Ahh shur' it's due for a service soon !. Speed on it's own doesn't cause accidents. Neither does not wearing seatbelts, or not carrying one's license

# 171

Posted: 18/09/2006 15:22

Speed is the biggest contributing to road accidents in Ireland without a doubt. However other major contributing factors are: alcohol, non-nationals driving non-nct'd left-hand-drive cars - mostly without proper insurance... (have you ever come across one trying to overtake on a narrow"ish" road?), lorry drivers (they know you'll come off second best if you don't get out of their way) and Learner drivers, and of course there's the "idiot" who doesn't necessarily fall into any of the above categories who puts us all (including him/herself) in danger by overtaking dangerously, or driving so close behind that you can see the colour of his/her eyes and hoping to force you onto the hard shoulder!

# 170

Posted: 05/09/2006 13:29

It is amazing the ignaorance and scapegoating on this subject. If we are top be honest with ourselves we would admit that we have broken the rules of the road from time to time and none of us are perfect. We all need to pick up the rules of the road book and read them again. We also need to slow down a little, just a little. If you think you know the rules of the road and are a good driver, you are part of the problem of road deaths in this country. If you dont believe me, read the rules of the road again and tell me if you knew them all and adhere strictly to them all the time. I'm talking here about young, old, male, female, Irish, non Irish.

# 169

Posted: 21/08/2006 14:03

Observer, could you honestly see a daylight curfew working here in winter. Sure how would people get to work?

# 168

Posted: 21/08/2006 10:41

3 things stick out to me. 1. Young people, especially males but not only males, dont apreciate danger fully and dont have skills learned by education or experience. R plates as in NI restrict their top speed to 50mph for a couple of years after getting a full licence, in some juristictions they are also restricted to daylight hours or an early evening curfew. 2. Courtesy and defensive driving should be encouraged by road notices [as done elsewhere] advising drivers to get up to full speed quickly in the lead-in roads before when joining a dual carrigeway and keeping to the left lane or left side of single lane roads when not overtaking. 3. L drivers should certainly have speed restrictions and curfews but should be allowed on motorways.
Enforcent of basic rules and education such as these by Gardai is neccessary for any progress to be made

# 167

Posted: 18/08/2006 15:46

people that just don't know how to drive.....some people think they can but they haven't got a clue, and old people that don't even go the speed limit, they should be getting stopped because that really annoys people..

# 166

Posted: 11/08/2006 18:44

Lack of proper driver education. In the US, drivers under 18 must take an approved driver education course which involves classroom instruction and driving over several weeks. A certificate from the driver ed course must be presented at the testing center. If someone fails the driving tst, they walk home or have a licensed driver rake them home. People with provisional licences are not allowed to drive without a qualified driver with them. And in some states, drivers have to take a new test every few years to keep up their skills and learn new legislation.

# 165

Posted: 08/08/2006 17:45

Read what I said again."**or** , on a dual carriageway, traffic in the lane to the right is turning right." I never mention turning right on a motorway.
Otherwise, you can overtake on the left if traffic is moving on queues.
On Motorways,you should not sit in the overtaking lane if you are not overtaking.
DRIVING ON THE MOTORWAY
The normal “keep left” rule applies. This means that you stay in the left hand lane unless you are overtaking. The outside lane is for overtaking only and a vehicle should move back into the inner lane when the overtaking manoeuvre is completed.

DRIVING ON DUAL CARRIAGEWAYS On dual carriageways, the normal requirement to drive on the left hand side except when overtaking or turning right applies. The outer lane of a two-lane dual carriageway should be used only – - For overtaking - When intending to turn right a short distance ahead. The outer lane of a three-lane dual carriageway should only be used for overtaking or when it is intended to make a right turn a short distance ahead.

# 164

Posted: 07/08/2006 16:48

I fully agree with all the comments about young male drivers. Young male drivers most of whom have a full licence by the way because they pass their test with flying colours as they are so brave and confident about their driving, they can park in the tiniest space, know every sign and traffic situation better than the instructor etc,etc but when they get to the open road espicially at night with friends in the car their ability is lost in their need to show off their brillant driving skills. I drive a lot at night and day and see them. Also I see a lot of people using mobile phones, I met five yesterday in a short distance to town. A mobile needs a lot of consentration to use and no one can safly drive and use a mobile at the same time.

# 163

Posted: 06/08/2006 04:52

JD Go back and learn the rules of the road, Number 1 Trafic can't turn righ on a moterway, Do you accept that??? Where do you turn right to??? Number 2 if there is traffic turning right on a duel carriageway EVEN IF IT IS A HALF MILE AHEAD THERE IS NO PROBLEM PASSING ON THE INSIDE. Not so on a moterway, hence my suggestion that some people should go back to a weekly class in their local collage to learn the basics of driving on the new road structures in Ireland. Mororways ,Etc.

# 162

Posted: 05/08/2006 01:33

Bear,
You cannot pass on the inside on a motorwaY or a dual caariageay, except if the traffic is moving in queues, or , on a dual carriageawy, traffic in the lane to the right is turning right. I f someone is needlessly in the overtaking lane and I want to pass him I put on my indicators, if no reaction I flash him.

# 161

Posted: 03/08/2006 09:18

Young mail drivers seem to bee the big offenders when it comes to risky driving. I also have witnessed the old lady syndrome when I was driving behind a car travelling slowly but it was hogging the centre of the road!

# 160

Posted: 02/08/2006 17:05

Recently a cyclist was in a cycle lane. He stopped at lights as he was going on straight. The left feeder light turned green and a truck turning crushed the cyclist.
Here road design was at least partly to blame.

Speed in itself does not kill.
Motorways where the speed is the highest are the safest roads.

The national routes , some of which are little more than country lanes have too many vehicles, travelling at too high speeds, travelling too close.


We need a policy similar to health and safety at work- a look at all causes. We need to have a policy of education, enforcement and engineering.

# 159

Posted: 02/08/2006 16:17

By use of the word ignorance I refer to its primary meaning: 'lack of knowledge', rather than its secondary meaning:'Rudeness through lack of knowledge of good manners'. And thus, education will indeed remove ignorance and hence lessen road deaths(refer to my first point 28-07). I would however agree with you to a point, if someone is constantly getting involved in accidents servere penalties should be employed. I do not believe in taking away peoples cars for one or two speeding incidents.
On another point, although road deaths are high in Ireland, we have more cars and drive more miles than almost any other europeans. Does anybody know if miles driven per capita is proportional to number of accidents/deaths.

# 158

Posted: 02/08/2006 14:18

I think that the main reasons for accidents and road death in this country are down to to things. The first is drink, how many people do you hear being killed at 3 in the morning at the weekend?
The second factor is the poor quality of the roads, how many of these road deaths happen on a motorway or dual carragway?
As for male drivers not getting insured on anything till they're 25, theres no way you could bring than in. Or maybe limit them to a 1 liter? I don't see that as the problem either because 1 liters are few and far between in the US but I seriously doubt they have the number of road deaths per head of population as us. Why? Because they have better roads.

# 157

Posted: 02/08/2006 11:34

My point headtheball is that knowledge through education or otherwise will not remove the ignorance that a certain proportion of drivers have. Certain individual are ignorant on/off the road but clearly on the road ignroance manifestation is where it is most lethal. This is where I believe severe penalties as i mentioned previously are required. If sale of car is legally not possible, then impounding of vehicle for duration of suspension should be possible. No one gets to use the car. Harsh but at least it makes drivers think twice about the repercussions of their speed/dangerous driving will have on their own families/friends

# 156

Posted: 01/08/2006 16:24

You missed my point direct. While speed is said to cause the vast majority of deaths on Irish roads, it is in fact the combination of speed and ignorance that causes said deaths. It is not about carrots it's about education.

# 155

Posted: 31/07/2006 15:43

spark, Limiters have been around for years on HGV and PSV's it is a very simple opperation to disable them, and especialy younger generation, that would be more understanding of this type of opperation, so it can never work, unless you can get manufacturers to build cars that will not do any more than the speed limit, and I am afraid that would be a non starter. This whole topic has been taken over by the notion that young drivers are responsable for all the accidents, Well I have been driving coaches since 1980 and I was 34yrs old starting, During that period I have come across hundreds of accidents, as any other driver that is on the road all the time will have, fatal and otherwise, and I can honestly say that the vast majority of them involved older people, so I do believe that we need to give younger drivers a bit of a break here. When there is an accident involving young drivers we see the papers full of the reports about them. But during any given day there a lot of very serious accidents that never make the papers. People may not have been killed but a lot of them suffer very substantial injuries.

# 154

Posted: 31/07/2006 10:16

Spark, do you think that once a person hits 25 they suddenly get the sense to handle a bigger car?
Incidentally every car on the road, even the 750CC ones can do more than the speed limit.

# 153

Posted: 31/07/2006 09:54

Looks like the last few posters believe in the carrot instead of the stick approach. The minority who are ignoring the rules of the road, taking the risks (knowingly or unknownlingly("we are not being trained properly")will never respond to carrot approaches. These people exist and apply similar attitudes to other aspects of life. Incentives need to be firm and direct

# 152

Posted: 30/07/2006 01:00

i thing that under 25,s should only be able to drive a 1 litre cars also before anyone gets there first licence the should have to put in about 6 months lessons then their exam and cars should,nt be made to go faster then the speed limit