Stop abuse of road safety laws before more die
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l Gertie Shields set up the road safety campaign group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) after her 19-year-old daughter Paula was one of six young people killed when a drink driver ploughed into the mini-bus in which she was travelling.
She lost her daughter on February 19, 1983, but for Mrs Shields the suffering goes on. Here she describes how she feels let down by a criminal justice system which allows one in four summonses for dangerous driving to go unanswered.
As a long time campaigner for road safety, I was horrified to read the number of people who appear to be getting away with potential road carnage.
Surely in this age of technology and computerisation of all facts, there has to be a way of assuring that a summons is duly delivered?
As we all have a PPS number which can be tracked to any area, it must be possible to be certain that these dangerous and selfish people are summoned, face the court and answer to the charge preferred.
There is no excuse for the gardai or any member of the Department of Justice not carrying out their duty and being in court to see it through.
I note that foreign nationals seem to be immune to legislation regarding road safety at the moment -- no penalty points, no National Car Test, no licences or insurance being some of the more serious ones. There should be a law that requires each driver resident in the State to have a valid Irish driver's licence. That might help.
What are our elected representatives doing about this disgraceful situation?
Danger
I suggest to them that they start acting immediately to address this blatant abuse of the law. I will be watching to see which of them prioritise it in the next few weeks. They must realise that these drivers present a danger to road users and that nobody is immune to death on the roads. It just might be someone you love and it is such a waste of life.
Every road statistic represents a precious human being who belongs to a family and whose death will cause such heartache that their lives will never be the same again.
Anyone can give lip service to such slaughter, but whatever is causing this situation must be addressed and sorted without delay. There is no excuse for it in a country that professes a respect for human life.
I am sick at heart when I think of all the years we in Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have spent trying to make a change.
Our daughter Paula and five of her friends were killed by a drink driver in 1983. Our lives and those of the other lovely young people killed have been destroyed.
When this tragedy happened it was treated as a minor offence to be dealt with in the District Court. It was then I found out how little the State valued my lovely girl and her friends and I realised I would have to do something to see that their deaths were a watershed and things would have to change.
I am now in my late 70s and feel so let down by the minister concerned. So many people have been killed over the years and if this is the best we can expect, then I say it is not good enough for me, Minister, or my dead daughter Paula. So sort out the mess without delay and bring in the criminals.
