REARVIEW:So the familiar and grim pattern of bank holiday road death announcements has played out on news bulletins, websites and newspapers. At the time of writing, five families are in mourning. The weekend toll marks a worrying trend.
As is usual with a spate of tragedies on the roads, political spokespeople trot out the usual warnings, condemnations and tut-tutting. Take Tom Hayes of Fine Gael. After two deaths, Hayes on Saturday urged drivers to take care on the roads.
Well-intentioned comments on the horror of road deaths will not reduce them. Dire warnings by gardaí in advance of bank holidays are equally futile unless they are followed through with proper action. A balance between education and enforcement should be applied all year round.
The Road Safety Authority has worked hard to educate young people on the dangers of risky driving and advocated new, stricter drink-driving laws, with the support of the majority. The latest phase on the enforcement side is the deployment of a network of privately operated mobile speed cameras. Irish roads do need effective speed enforcement to penalise those who drive dangerously. This will save lives.
If enforcement is to be effective in catching drivers behaving badly they must be fair to gain public confidence. We have been assured that the cameras will be used in accident black-spots and not where it will simply be easy to catch motorists.
If politicians want to make themselves useful they should ensure that operators of privately run cameras are monitored, and engage with their constituents on the location of speed enforcers.