Central to the police function of reducing road deaths is its ability, in effect, to coerce drivers into behaving properly. This is done mainly by stopping speeding and drunken drivers and other offenders who jump lights or act in any careless fashion on the road.
Two years ago the Garda started Operation Lifesaver, under which there was a major increase in Traffic Branch activity in the areas where the worst road accidents were happening.
Particular emphasis was placed on the Louth-Meath Garda division which has four primary or N-routes passing through it and which had a very high level of road deaths.
There had been a succession of appalling road accidents on the main roads through the division, and the local Garda management saw the need for urgent action.
Gardai in Louth-Meath began very active traffic surveillance, and there was a major increase in on-the-spot fines and arrests for dangerous or careless driving. After six months this policy was shown to be effective in reducing deaths and was introduced throughout the State.
Coinciding with the introduction of the traffic-calming work at villages and other danger points on main routes, there has been a continuing slight decrease in road deaths.
The head of the Garda Traffic Branch, Chief Supt Al McHugh, reported this week that there were 194 road deaths in the first six months of this year compared with 205 in the same period last year.
On the face of it, this compares favourably with the level of road deaths in the 1970s when there were virtually no safety considerations on the roads (640 people were killed in 1972). However, the level of death and injury on the roads is still frightening. Some 458 people died last year and hundreds more were badly injured.
The State is obliged to implement the EU policy of reducing road deaths by 20 per cent in the five-year period between the start of 1998 and the end of 2002. In order to meet this target the Republic has to reduce its road-death levels by 92, reaching a figure of 393 or lower by the end of 2002.
To meet the EU directive, the number of deaths should be falling by 4 per cent per annum over the five years. The only relevant figures available so far, for the first six months of 1998 and 1999, show a decrease in the two six-month periods from 205 to 194, which suggests that this target is being met.
This is attributed mainly to the continuing high-profile Garda traffic operation, Lifesaver. Since this began there have been around 300,000 on-the-spot fines for speeding. At £50 each, this has raised about £15 million in revenue for the State.
The key to increasing the effectiveness of the Garda campaign is better management of the system for processing fines and summonses.
According to Garda sources, the increase in handling traffic matters is causing massive increases in paperwork and is hampering other work.
A major upgrade of existing computer systems is required to handle the increases in fines, the summonses resulting from the automatic traffic cameras and the proposed penalty-point system whereby drivers' licences are endorsed for certain offences which can lead to increased insurance premiums and, eventually, loss of the licence.
To meet this need, the Minister for the Environment announced the upgrading of the Garda road traffic-related systems.
On page 11 of the Government's strategy document, Road to Safety, it states that the present Garda system is "not year 2000 compliant and is very limited in technical scope."
It sets out its proposals thus: "The Government recognises the absolute strategic importance of the enforcement of legislation in relation to speeding and other key offences proven to be the main contributory factor to road accidents.
"Expert studies have identified the critical need in the short to medium term to have efficient detection and capture systems, and to have fully automated processing systems conforming to the highest information technology principles."
It goes on: "Measures are well advanced to respond to the first requirement. However, considerable enhancement is needed to allow processing systems to satisfactorily support both the strengthened enforcement of road safety legislation and the required increase in the volume and selectivity of offenced detected.
"The Government accepts that the need for this enhancement of automated processing systems is immediate and essential in order to support this strategy and to establish a strong public perception that the risk of detection and sanction is high.
"The Government have therefore determined that this essential technology requirement will be addressed as a matter of urgency with a view to the development of an integrated traffic violation processing service operating to the highest standards in terms of service quality, efficiency and effectiveness."
A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment made no specific comment on the proposals for penalty points or the introduction of the "essential technology", saying only that a "progress report" from the "high-level group" set up to examine the proposals was expected shortly.