A Cavan councillor believes that the ongoing carnage on our roads is "directly linked" to a fall in in the number of Gardaí policing roads and the "sharp decline" in speeding enforcement. That's according to Aontú's Cllr Sarah O' Reilly who says figures released by the Minister for Justice, show a sharp fall in the numbers of Fixed Charge Notices for speeding on the country's roads. Cllr O'Reilly described the backward trend as "not good enough" citing that in 2014, 12,835 speeding fines were issued, however, last year it was down to 10,453. Speaking to Northern Sound, Cllr O'Reilly said that "enforcement saves lives." Cllr O'Reilly believes that the government and the Minister for Justice need to "get real" when it comes to road safety, adding that they have an "absolute duty" to all road users.
"Enforcement saves lives," she explained. "Shockingly that enforcement is not happening on many of our roads. Drivers know this and some drivers are not adhering to safety laws as a result. This is true for drink driving, speeding, dangerous driving and other traffic violations. The government and the Minister for Justice need to get real when it comes to road safety. They have an absolute duty to all road users.
“They are coming out with rubbish about lowering speed limits on many of our rural roads instead of actually enforcing the limits that are there. Do they actually seriously that drivers who are currently ignoring the 80 MPH on so many roads will suddenly transform and observe the mooted new limits which are lower . This is silly stuff and more reactionary window dressing by our government. Enforce the existing laws."
