Road deaths blamed on penalty points failure

A failure by the Government to provide the resources needed to enforce the penalty points system, contributed to the massive road death toll, over the May Bank Holiday Weekend, an opposition politician has claimed.

A total of eight people died in road accidents over the weekend, five more than last year, despite the garda crackdown.

Fine Gael's spokesman on transport Denis Naughten said that 13 lives had been lost since May 1. This could be related to the failure by the Government to provide the resources needed to enforce the penalty points system.

He commented: "The tragic return to increased numbers of death on our roads follows the pattern that was seen in the UK when the penalty points were introduced there. After the initial novelty wore off, drivers went back to their old habits."

The National Safety Council (NSC) has also stated it is worried drivers are returning to their former driving habits as the effect of the penalty points system begins to wear off.

Speaking on RTE radio yesterday (May 6) Eddie Shaw of the NSC described the recent road deaths over the weekend as a "catastrophe" in terms of loss of human life.

He warned all motorists that the primary cause of road accidents was driver behaviour. Despite the deterrent of penalty points, thousands of motorists were caught for speeding over the weekend, he claimed.