Technology can help to cut fatal accidents

The safety features of the vehicles have had the biggest impact on road mortality – and expanding on that could prevent even more deaths in the future.

That’s what Fianna Fáil Deputy Eamon Ó Cúiv told the Dáil recently, as he pointed to the positive effect of crumple zones, seat belts and airbags – all of which have meant that people survive accidents they would not have survived 30 or 40 years ago.

Speaking during a debate on the new Road Traffic Bill, which imposes a mandatory disqualification to drivers found to be over the legal alcohol limit, he said it was very important to examine the possibilities for reducing accidents using technology in cars.

“There are two very obvious changes which could be introduced,” he said.

“The first is that a device could be built into every car which would prevent ignition if the driver was over the legal blood-alcohol limit. That could be mandatory for all new cars.

“It might add a little bit to the cost of a car but it would reduce the insurance considerably.

“The second measure would be to link a governor in a car to a GPS system, as is done with trucks. This system would have all the speed limits in the country recorded within it. This would make it impossible for a car to exceed the speed limit,” he added.

A car should not be able to move off unless all the people sitting in it are wearing seat belts, he said.

“I have personal reason to appreciate the importance of seat belts,” he said.

“I was in a car which was involved in a serious head-on collision. I have no doubt that the technical knowledge, experience and training of the driver saved our lives.

“He did something which not many lesser trained drivers would have. This particular driver was top of the range. When the car went straight for him, he took it on the nose. I queried him afterwards and he said that he was trained to do so because cars are designed to crumple from the front,” he told the House.

The former Minister pointed out that if a person in his part of the county lost their licence – as opposed to a person in the city – they would face significantly greater problems in their daily lives.

“He or she would have to pay to be driven to and from work and for their children to be driven to and from school because the Government has cut the school transport system and if ten children do not live on the road on which one travels to school, a bus will not be provided,” he said.

“Many schools in rural Ireland have no school bus service. A driving ban would make day-to-day life impossible for such a person in terms of work and ferrying his or her children to all the events that children must attend. The Minister should start doing the sums.”

Fianna Fáil believes the Minister should accept the compromise they had suggested, which is that five penalty points should be given to a person with an alcohol level of between 50 mg and 80 mg per 100 ml.

“A person with seven penalty points would be disqualified on receiving such a sanction,” he said. “Habitually risk-taking drivers would be disqualified.”