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Contrasting results in Eire and Northern Ireland

Spiralling road casualties in the Republic of Ireland are in stark contrast to the latest statistics from Northern Ireland, which reflect the lowest death toll there in over half a century.

By contrast, the Republic of Ireland is the only state in Europe where road deaths are on the increase.

Eire's government has been accused of 'criminal negligence' - a damning charge levelled by Eddie Shaw, former chairman of the National Safety Council. Disillusioned, he resigned that post in protest over the coalition's performance in tackling road carnage.

399 people died on the Republic's roads last year - an increase on previous years and the worst death toll since 2001, when 411 people were killed.

The reduction in Northern Ireland brings the figure to the lowest there since 1952. Despite this, the authorities are emphatic that the relatively low toll of 136 fatalities is still far too high.

Improving road safety north of the border is regarded as 'a major policing priority', which is set to benefit in 2006 from a two-track approach using education backed by robust enforcement.

The latest figures released by the gardaí show the number of arrests for suspected drink driving in the run-up to Christmas were up significantly on the same period in 2004. 1,300 people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day.

According to garda estimates, one-third of all fatal road accidents are drink-related.

For the full story go to: http://www.irishexaminer.com

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