Sir, - Your Editorial of December 21st is appropriate and timely as the carnage on our roads seems as depressing as ever with no sign of any improvement in driving standards. May I mention something which I believe is at the root of the whole problem?
The Government Strategy for Road Safety 1998-2002, published by the Department of the Environment, appears to confirm that the things which need to be done urgently will not be done in the immediate future. Surely those who chose to be "driving instructors" should be subject to strict legislative procedures and mandatory controls? Yet the "strategy" tells us that the driver instructor register will remain a voluntary one, and that it is an "industry-led scheme" - in other words it is promoted by private enterprise. Therefore, I could call myself a driving instructor at any time as long as I hold a valid driving licence. That is not good enough, and could not happen in any other EC country. If children in a school display a low level of education, we don't blame the children, but look at the teaching staff.
Furthermore the Minister, in a Dail reply, stated: "The strategy has not prioritised any change in the position whereby persons may drive unaccompanied for the period of a second provisional category B driving licence." So, we now have 90,000 unqualified drivers on our roads who are not required by law to have a qualified driver beside them.
The Government has failed to publish any material which will contribute to a raising of driving standards, only The Rules of the Road, priced £2, which is what the title says - rules and no more. Comparisons may be odious, but I bought the UK Highway Code for 99p and it is a gold mine of information on safety techniques and useful information.
It is no wonder that we are just about the worst in Europe when it comes to driving standards, and unless this is remedied the horrific carnage on our roads will continue and may well increase.-Yours, etc., Douglas McCowen,
Templeville Road, Dublin 6W.