Sir, - The recent publication of the National Road Safety Council's annual report for 1999 (commented on in your Editorial of August 15th) has, in your own words, "performed a signal public service by highlighting the disgraceful state of safety on Ireland's roads". The chairman's statement, that of the 62,000 young people who sat this year's Leaving Certificate, 1,000 will have been killed in car crashes by 2008, while more than 4,000 will have suffered serious injury, illustrated graphically the horrendous scale of the carnage occurring every day on our roads.
In all the discussion of possible remedial measures, however (more Garda speed-checks, stiffer fines, etc.), no one, to my knowledge, has suggested the introduction of tachographs into cars. I believe the installation of a "black box" recorder into every car would go a long way towards bringing to book those drivers whose crazy habits we see every day.
Tachographs have been in use in road-haulage vehicles here since 1986 and have proved a very effective means of monitoring the driving habits of truck-drivers. Although introduced initially under EC requirements (to ensure that long-haul truck-drivers were not forced to drive for excessive periods of time over long distances), their technology allows inspectors to determine at a glance the speed of a vehicle and various other aspects of its road performance.
Such a recorder installed in every car, together with a system of regular (but also random!) checking would, I believe, help deter wayward drivers, especially if they knew that a tachograph reading had to be submitted, say, once a month. The technology already exists, and the authorities have a well-established and accepted practice of using tachograph readings in the aftermath of accidents involving trucks. This evidence has been tried and tested also in the courts and is not open to the same questioning that occurs, for example, with breathalyser tests. A similar device in cars would quickly expose those drivers who drive too fast too often, and who otherwise persistently flout the driving laws. Allied to a penalty-point system (which is already mooted), the tachograph would certainly help stamp out the kind of behaviour that has led to the current grim accident statistics.
Of course, there would be objections to the additional expense involved, but mass-production would ensure low unit cost. Besides, the same arguments were heard before, when there was talk first of seat-belts and airbags; these are now standard features.
Perhaps for once we in this country could lead the way by deciding ourselves (rather than having the EU decide for us) that a "black box" should be a standard feature in every car. The insurance companies could give a lead by offering lower premiums to drivers who voluntarily installed such a device.
In the meantime, the more effective use of scarce Garda resources (e.g., motorcycle patrols on particularly dangerous stretches of road, rather than speed cameras on relatively hazard-free dual-carriageways and motorway routes) would combine to halt the current chaos. Something certainly has to be done, and soon. - Yours, etc.,
Prof Daibhi O Croinin, Department of History, National University of Ireland, Galway.