DESPITE RECENT decreases in the number of fatalities on Irish roads, too many families still know the devastation that drink driving and speeding can cause, the chairman of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said yesterday.
So far this year, there have been 53 fewer deaths on the roads than in the corresponding period last year, but Gay Byrne said this fact would provide "little consolation" to the families of the 271 people who have lost their lives in collisions and crashes.
Speaking at the launch of an RSA campaign warning of the dangers of drink driving, Mr Byrne said that most motorists were now grasping the road safety message but that speeding remains a considerable problem.
"There's a large cohort of people in the country where speed means absolutely nothing and we need speed cameras in operation in order to get at those people."
Mr Byrne said he was confident the Government would follow through with its pledge to introduce the devices, as the deal was "signed and sealed" before the "dreaded credit crunch" began.
"I think next year the new speed cameras will make a considerable contribution to lessening what is happening on the roads."
He said Ireland was on course for its most successful year in road safety in over four decades, but warned motorists to take extra care over the Christmas period, during which 18 people were killed or seriously injured last year.
To aid its campaign, the RSA has released a song which it hopes will get the anti-drink driving message across to motorists.
Songwriter Pete St John, who wrote The Fields of Athenry, produced the tune, Never Drink and Drive, which can be downloaded from www.neverdrinkanddrivesong.com.
"It is a much appreciated bonus to have the support of a man whose songs are sung all over the world," Mr Byrne said.
