Robert Bandanza
April 22nd, 2006, 02:28 PM
Quarter of deaths on our roads are foreign nationals
From:The Irish Independent
Sunday, 16th April, 2006
LARA BRADLEY
A GOVERNMENT minister admitted last night that there are now "very, very serious questions" about safety on our roads with 15 lives lost since last Sunday.
Five people have died so far this Easter weekend with the Polish community mourning four men, killed when the car in which they were travelling hit a truck in Co Cork.
Despite one of the most concerted road safety campaigns in recent years and a warning by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over holiday drink-driving, motorists have again failed to heed the safety calls.
The deaths have again focused attention on the disproportionate number of immigrants involved in fatal car crashes - up to a quarter of the 122 people killed this year were foreign nationals.
Although foreign nationals make up just nine per cent of the workforce, they account for 25 per cent of the deaths on Irish roads.
Amid mounting evidence that large numbers of non-national drivers are taking to the roads uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed and, in some cases intoxicated, there were calls last night for an urgent overhaul of a system that allows this to continue.
The deaths of the Polish construction workers on Friday night was followed yesterday morning by the death of young man in his 20s after his car struck two horses at Garlow Cross, near Navan in Co Meath. The man was named as Martin Coen, 26, of Lacken, Kilmihill in Co Clare.
Last night, Junior Environment Minister Batt O'Keeffe admitted he was "shocked and appalled" by the carnage.
He told the Sunday Independent: "My information is that of the 122 people to have died on our roads so far, at least 30 were non-nationals. This is a ratio of almost one-in-four road deaths and obviously it raises very, very serious questions about safety, the condition of some vehicles on our roads and overall driver behaviour."
The politician gave the Sunday Independent the figures which he has compiled himself because gardai do not
ANALYSIS:
record the nationality of drivers involved in crashes.
There are now calls for an urgent overhaul of the Garda accident report sheet to include this information - seen as vital in other countries to monitor driving behaviour.
When asked last night how many non-nationals were killed so far this year, senior Garda spokesman Brendan Costello said: "I wouldn't have a breeze. Not a clue."
Gay Byrne, the chairman of the new Road Safety Authority, said properly compiled data was vital.
Mr Byrne said: "There are all sorts of rumours about old cars, no tax, no insurance and people being confused and driving on the wrong side of the roads, but all that doesn't add up to a hill of beans as it is only anecdotal."
Labour Transport spokeswoman Roisin Shortall said: "The Garda accident report sheet hasn't changed for 10 years and has no provision for recording the nationality of those involved in accidents. We need to have full information to tackle the problem."
Ms Shortall went on to say that one of the reasons for the high number of non-nationals killed on the road is that a high percentage of immigrant communities are young men.
She said: "A lot of them are young men who have come from cultures where there is a lot of alcohol and arrived in our culture which also involves a lot of alcohol.
"They see our lack of respect for good driving and get a sense that the laws of the road are not being enforced. There is very little Garda visibility on the roads so they see a lax regime and presume it is a free for all," she said.
Penalty points cannot be added to a foreign driving licence, but non-nationals can be prosecuted through the courts for driving offences in the same way as Irish drivers.
Gardai say they have seized "thousands of cars in the past year" for breaches of the Road Traffic Act, but have no record of how many of these belonged to non-nationals.
Mr Costello said: "There are plenty of powers for gardai to seize cars that are defective or have no insurance or the tax is out of date. The nationality of someone driving a defective vehicle would not be recorded. We're not looking at their passports."
But the situation, according to the Department of Transport, is that a loophole in the current law means that only cars registered in the State can be impounded for being uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed or uncertified.
A spokesman for Transport Minister Martin Cullen said: "We are working hard to deal with road deaths in their entirety and we don't draw a distinction in the nationality of people who die on the roads. However, it is a changed Ireland and we are working at government level to respond to that reality."
In addition to the five people killed on Friday night and yesterday morning, 10 others lost their lives in one of the blackest weeks of carnage on the roads.
Paul Callaghan, 24, from Rose Park, Balrothery died on Friday in Beaumont Hospital following a two car-collision on March 27 at Blake's Cross in North County Dublin.
On Thursday night, a 20-year-old back seat passenger died when two cars collided at Castledillon near Straffan. The young man who died was Stephen O'Brien from Loughbollard, Clane, Co Kildare. Three people were injured.
Earlier in the evening, Josie Daly, 67, from Ballinagore, Co Westmeath, was killed and her son Padraig, 40, seriously injured when they were struck by a car as they walked along the coast road at Blainroe, Co Wicklow. Two passengers in the car were injured.
Colin Broughan, 35, from Greystones, Co Wicklow, was killed on Thursday morning at Rathdrum. He was crushed between his van and a vehicle towing a dumper truck at a building site at the Avondale Community College. He had parked his van and returned to get his protective hat when the incident occurred.
On Tuesday Declan McCarthy, 24, died in hospital two days after his car struck a wall in the early hours at Kilcooley, Ardfert, Co Kerry. The dead man was from Balinglanna, Ballyheigue.
A mother and her nine-year-old son lost their lives in a collision on Monday outside Blessington in Co Wicklow. Pamela Boylan, 32, and her son Thomas from Fettercairn, Dublin 24 were killed in the two-car collision on the N81 shortly before 1pm.
On Sunday Eugene Reilly, who was in his 20s and from Salterstown, Dunleer, Co Louth, died after the car in which he was travelling crashed at Strand Road, Annagassan at 10pm.
Earlier in the day, Gerard Downey, 69, from Bredin Street, Drogheda, Co Louth died after he was struck by a car while walking on the Drogheda to Baltray Road.
A 23-year-old man died in a crash in Co Roscommon early on Sunday morning. Paul Mulryan of Lissnamult, Roscommon was a rear-seat passenger in a car which struck a wall at Ballygalda, Roscommon around 6am. Three other young men were injured.
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From:The Irish Independent
Sunday, 16th April, 2006
LARA BRADLEY
A GOVERNMENT minister admitted last night that there are now "very, very serious questions" about safety on our roads with 15 lives lost since last Sunday.
Five people have died so far this Easter weekend with the Polish community mourning four men, killed when the car in which they were travelling hit a truck in Co Cork.
Despite one of the most concerted road safety campaigns in recent years and a warning by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over holiday drink-driving, motorists have again failed to heed the safety calls.
The deaths have again focused attention on the disproportionate number of immigrants involved in fatal car crashes - up to a quarter of the 122 people killed this year were foreign nationals.
Although foreign nationals make up just nine per cent of the workforce, they account for 25 per cent of the deaths on Irish roads.
Amid mounting evidence that large numbers of non-national drivers are taking to the roads uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed and, in some cases intoxicated, there were calls last night for an urgent overhaul of a system that allows this to continue.
The deaths of the Polish construction workers on Friday night was followed yesterday morning by the death of young man in his 20s after his car struck two horses at Garlow Cross, near Navan in Co Meath. The man was named as Martin Coen, 26, of Lacken, Kilmihill in Co Clare.
Last night, Junior Environment Minister Batt O'Keeffe admitted he was "shocked and appalled" by the carnage.
He told the Sunday Independent: "My information is that of the 122 people to have died on our roads so far, at least 30 were non-nationals. This is a ratio of almost one-in-four road deaths and obviously it raises very, very serious questions about safety, the condition of some vehicles on our roads and overall driver behaviour."
The politician gave the Sunday Independent the figures which he has compiled himself because gardai do not
ANALYSIS:
record the nationality of drivers involved in crashes.
There are now calls for an urgent overhaul of the Garda accident report sheet to include this information - seen as vital in other countries to monitor driving behaviour.
When asked last night how many non-nationals were killed so far this year, senior Garda spokesman Brendan Costello said: "I wouldn't have a breeze. Not a clue."
Gay Byrne, the chairman of the new Road Safety Authority, said properly compiled data was vital.
Mr Byrne said: "There are all sorts of rumours about old cars, no tax, no insurance and people being confused and driving on the wrong side of the roads, but all that doesn't add up to a hill of beans as it is only anecdotal."
Labour Transport spokeswoman Roisin Shortall said: "The Garda accident report sheet hasn't changed for 10 years and has no provision for recording the nationality of those involved in accidents. We need to have full information to tackle the problem."
Ms Shortall went on to say that one of the reasons for the high number of non-nationals killed on the road is that a high percentage of immigrant communities are young men.
She said: "A lot of them are young men who have come from cultures where there is a lot of alcohol and arrived in our culture which also involves a lot of alcohol.
"They see our lack of respect for good driving and get a sense that the laws of the road are not being enforced. There is very little Garda visibility on the roads so they see a lax regime and presume it is a free for all," she said.
Penalty points cannot be added to a foreign driving licence, but non-nationals can be prosecuted through the courts for driving offences in the same way as Irish drivers.
Gardai say they have seized "thousands of cars in the past year" for breaches of the Road Traffic Act, but have no record of how many of these belonged to non-nationals.
Mr Costello said: "There are plenty of powers for gardai to seize cars that are defective or have no insurance or the tax is out of date. The nationality of someone driving a defective vehicle would not be recorded. We're not looking at their passports."
But the situation, according to the Department of Transport, is that a loophole in the current law means that only cars registered in the State can be impounded for being uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed or uncertified.
A spokesman for Transport Minister Martin Cullen said: "We are working hard to deal with road deaths in their entirety and we don't draw a distinction in the nationality of people who die on the roads. However, it is a changed Ireland and we are working at government level to respond to that reality."
In addition to the five people killed on Friday night and yesterday morning, 10 others lost their lives in one of the blackest weeks of carnage on the roads.
Paul Callaghan, 24, from Rose Park, Balrothery died on Friday in Beaumont Hospital following a two car-collision on March 27 at Blake's Cross in North County Dublin.
On Thursday night, a 20-year-old back seat passenger died when two cars collided at Castledillon near Straffan. The young man who died was Stephen O'Brien from Loughbollard, Clane, Co Kildare. Three people were injured.
Earlier in the evening, Josie Daly, 67, from Ballinagore, Co Westmeath, was killed and her son Padraig, 40, seriously injured when they were struck by a car as they walked along the coast road at Blainroe, Co Wicklow. Two passengers in the car were injured.
Colin Broughan, 35, from Greystones, Co Wicklow, was killed on Thursday morning at Rathdrum. He was crushed between his van and a vehicle towing a dumper truck at a building site at the Avondale Community College. He had parked his van and returned to get his protective hat when the incident occurred.
On Tuesday Declan McCarthy, 24, died in hospital two days after his car struck a wall in the early hours at Kilcooley, Ardfert, Co Kerry. The dead man was from Balinglanna, Ballyheigue.
A mother and her nine-year-old son lost their lives in a collision on Monday outside Blessington in Co Wicklow. Pamela Boylan, 32, and her son Thomas from Fettercairn, Dublin 24 were killed in the two-car collision on the N81 shortly before 1pm.
On Sunday Eugene Reilly, who was in his 20s and from Salterstown, Dunleer, Co Louth, died after the car in which he was travelling crashed at Strand Road, Annagassan at 10pm.
Earlier in the day, Gerard Downey, 69, from Bredin Street, Drogheda, Co Louth died after he was struck by a car while walking on the Drogheda to Baltray Road.
A 23-year-old man died in a crash in Co Roscommon early on Sunday morning. Paul Mulryan of Lissnamult, Roscommon was a rear-seat passenger in a car which struck a wall at Ballygalda, Roscommon around 6am. Three other young men were injured.
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