Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

I am glad of the chance to say a few words on this Bill. I do not have much time and will just address a few aspects of it. My colleague mentioned the condition of our roads and the weather but there is a more significant issue at stake, which is not mentioned in the Bill and which was not mentioned by the Minister in his contribution. The Minister referred to the increased number of cars but did not state that the condition of the roads, especially back-roads, is absolutely brutal. In congested counties and in the greater Dublin region, the sides of roads are falling apart and there are massive potholes. Many of these are being created on foot of the increased number of motorists avoiding congested towns. We call the routes on which they drive "rat runs".

This is a serious problem but we are not addressing it. It will contribute and has contributed to deaths. Last night in my parish, a 19 year old lost his life in the early evening on one of these famous rat runs. He would not have been on that road only for serious traffic problems in the town. These problems take time to fix but if motorists are to use rat runs, let us repair them and have them in good condition. Let us fix the roads that are falling apart.

My county is under serious pressure because of the volume of traffic and the roads are a mess, thus contributing to people dying — it is as simple as that. We can enact all the legislation we want but if we do not provide good roads, more people will die. I ask that the Departments work together to solve this problem. Money should be invested in the roads.

Reference was made to having better training for motorcyclists. If a motorbike going at a normal speed hits a pothole, it will go over the hedge or into a tree or pole. A massive pothole in a road is a deathtrap. Surely to God red flags should be erected where there is a hole in a road and the bloody thing should be fixed. It is not that hard or costly to do. What price is a life?

The Bill is a step in the right direction but, as the Minister knows, it will not solve the problem. He hopes to introduce another road traffic Bill before the end of the year. One must ask what we have been doing for the past five or six years as road carnage has become increasingly worse. We have all spoken about road traffic problems over the past few years during Private Members' time and Question Time, yet a half Bill is being introduced and another is to follow in a couple of months. This is not a new topic and I wonder why there is not greater urgency.

The Minister stated the annual number of deaths could have reached 550 or 600 under certain circumstances. There were 399 last year and nearly 200 to date this year. This is far too many because any road death is one too many. Most road deaths are not the result of accidents but the result of incidents caused by error, bad driving, including speeding, or bad conditions. A small number of accidents will always occur but most deaths are not due to them. It must be said the Government is to blame for many of the deaths. Although driver error is part of the equation, the Government is to blame for its total lack of urgency in dealing with the problem.

When certain individuals were appointed to office, they announced their aim was to reduce the annual number of deaths by 150, as if to say 250 is an acceptable number of deaths on our roads. It is far from it. We should be aiming much higher to try to effect great changes.

On the specifics of the Bill, I welcome the privatisation of responsibility for speed cameras. I mentioned this four years ago in the House and many others spoke about it also, yet it is not happening to a sufficient degree. This Bill does not go far enough in this regard. I want to ensure the locations of speed cameras will not be advertised so motorists will not know where they are. We should go a step further and try to have speed cameras in various vehicles, even tractors. Until such time as drivers do not know the location of speed cameras and fear that there might be one around any bend or in any hedge or tree, they will not slow down and drive properly. The fear of being caught is the greatest deterrent to any crime. Speed cameras, therefore, should be in as many places as possible and hidden such that they might have an effect.

We debated the use of mobile phones in vehicles some months ago and I will not do so again. Suffice it to say that I am delighted there are relevant provisions in the Bill. They are needed badly and must be enforced. The Bill will scare people in this regard because the penalty points for using a mobile phone while driving are sufficiently high.

Consider the provisions in respect of learner permits to allow one to do driving courses. We must really improve driver education. The current test is not good enough. It is a joke and does not assess one's driving. We need to demand a higher driving standard and I ask the Minister for Transport to provide for the possibility to apply for advanced driver permits and encourage greater driving ability among all ages. I ask that he talk seriously to the Minister for Education and Science with a view to including driver education on the curriculum.

To drive in this country is perceived as a right. It is not a right but a privilege and it should be earned. We should demand that it be earned through doing a proper test. I would introduce an assessment for those who are currently fully licensed. Motorists should be assessed every ten or 15 years and should be advised and reminded how to drive properly. I say this because it is not only young people who drive badly on our roads.

I am delighted with the provision for random breath testing to counter drink driving. It should have been introduced years ago. It is not only young people who are drink driving — it is mostly middle aged and older people who are doing so through force of habit and they are the ones to whom we must send a very strong message.

I accept there has been a greater garda presence on the roads in the past month or two. I have encountered six checkpoints and have seen seven or eight gardaí checking for speed in the past month alone. I am impressed with this and it should continue. If it continues and is not just for show every so often, it will improve driver behaviour. This Bill is only a step in the right direction and we need many more provisions and a bit of imagination. We need to train people to drive properly and demand that they do so correctly.

I am fed up going to the funerals of people, who should still be alive, because of an incident involving a car on the road. A car is a lethal weapon. If driven dangerously, too fast or under the influence of alcohol, one should be prosecuted for attempted murder, and nothing short of this.

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