Motorists have shown a significant improvement in their attitudes to road safety since last year, according to the Irish Insurance Federation.
In a survey of 929 motorists' attitudes to driving, conducted by the federation, there was a substantial reduction in the number of drivers admitting to serious breaches such as speeding, drink-driving and dangerous overtaking.
Of those surveyed, there was a 14 per cent reduction since last year in the number of drivers who admitted to breaking the speed limit, while 60 per cent of drivers said they believed that they were likely to be caught if driving over the alcohol limit, a marked improvement of 14 per cent on last year's figure.
However, 10 per cent of respondents still admitted to drink-driving, 57 per cent admitted to driving when tired and 20 per cent said that they did not wear a seat-belt.
Support for the penalty points system has risen among motorists, with 62 per cent believing it to be effective, compared with 31 per cent in 2006. Random breath-testing was considered the most effective drink-driving deterrent.
Drivers were also found to have greater confidence in Government measures to improve road safety, such as an increased Garda presence on roads and increased penalty points for those who committed serious traffic offences.
Overall, the improvement in safety-consciousness among motorists is believed to have been due to a strong road safety campaign and measures introduced by former minister for transport Martin Cullen in July 2006 to combat the high number of road deaths. The measures included the introduction of mandatory breath-testing, a ban on using mobile phones while driving, the implementation of privatised speed cameras across the country and powers to impound uninsured vehicles registered outside the State.
Commenting on the findings, the deputy president of the federation, Brendan Murphy, called on Minster for Transport Noel Dempsey to honour his predecessor's commitments by "directing both full-time and reserve Garda resources into road traffic law enforcement". He also hoped that getting breath test numbers up to the annual target of 460,000 could be achieved by gardaí.
Noel Brett, of the Road Safety Authority, said he believed that those who persist in "killer" behaviour on the roads must now be targeted. "While the vast majority of road-users are changing their behaviour, there is a minority who persist in killer behaviour like speeding, drinking and driving recklessly. These are the people we now have to target," he said.
So far this year 208 people have been killed on the roads in the Republic, with eight fatalities in August. The figure for the year to date is down by 40 compared to the same period last year.