THE DEPARTMENT of Transport should establish an independent road-crash investigation unit to inquire into the cause of fatal collisions, the Dáil was told yesterday.
Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said that relatives of those killed and seriously injured were being left without access to information in cases where the DPP does not pursue a case following a fatal crash.
Mr O'Dowd said Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey would be "failing in his duty of care" if he did not set up a unit to probe road crashes, including those involving public-transport vehicles such as buses.
Families of those killed in crashes were denied closure because in cases where the DPP does not take a prosecution, the garda file into a fatal crash remains confidential, Mr O'Dowd said. However, Mr Dempsey did not agree with the deputy about the need for such an agency.
The Transport Minister said yesterday that he plans to move the Air Accident Investigation Unit, Railway Incident Investigation Unit and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board onto one site in Drogheda and has asked his Department to look at integrating the functions of these agencies.
Those agencies try to determine the cause of a crash or death but do not apportion blame or liability.
Mr O'Dowd told Motors that a road-safety unit could be based on a similar system and work "in parallel with gardaí".
"We have investigations for aircraft, the marine and railways so why not one for road traffic? These crashes need to be properly investigated because . . . without proper information we will not improve road safety," said Mr O'Dowd.
Restrictions on information have prompted relatives of those killed in road crashes to form a support group: Families of Road Tragedies (Fort).
A Fort spokesman said families were being frustrated in their attempts to establish what had happened in a crash, particularly in cases where the condition of the road was considered a factor.
An Garda Siochana is the only agency entitled or equipped to investigate collisions, although most local authorities prepare a file for the Irish Public Bodies Insurances (IPBI), which insures county councils.
This file is prepared for use in the defence of a legal claim arising from the crash, and is not released.
In a small number of cases where roadworks were taking place at the scene of the crash, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has investigated and sought to enforce standards at roadworks sites.
However, local authorities are contesting whether the HSA is legally entitled to do so, in the High Court.
