Sir, – The recent conviction of a TD for dangerous driving highlights a gap between rhetoric and reality in road safety enforcement.
The court accepted evidence of sustained speeds above 190km/h, aggressive driving and a failure to notice Garda blue lights.
This was not a momentary error but conduct at the most serious end of the scale.
Irish law allows for custodial sentences for dangerous driving, even where no collision occurs. In that context, a €500 fine and a two-year disqualification appears wholly inadequate as a deterrent.
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Courts regularly state that excessive speed kills and that sentencing must reflect this.
If those warnings are to carry credibility, penalties in the gravest cases must be more than symbolic, especially where the offender holds public office. – Yours, etc,
PETER MALBASHA,
Booterstown.
Co Dublin.
