Making speed seem sexy
Friday February 24 2006
The problem, as I see it, is that speeding is advertised as being sexy.
Mr Faughnan is not going to say anything about that, because he never says anything anti - motor trade.
This neatly brings me to AXA and the joke that is the "National Safety Council". The NSC is just a medium for AXA to protect its most profitable market ( young people ) by putting out insulting and discriminatory propaganda which they call 'ads'. The NSC and AXA, not surprisingly, share executives.
All of these people happily turn a blind eye to manufacturer's Ads. which show cars speeding ... even on Winning Streak. I complained about this to the Advertising Standards Authority in November, and I am still waiting for a reply.
The motor trade is a powerful lobby which no one wants to take on.
As the driver of an older car, I have people trying to race me every day. The Government and the trade have succeeded in giving most people an inferiority complex about what year of car they drive ( which equals more new cars sold ), and speed - along with what year the number plate displays.
A lot of young people are getting killed. Cynical advertising mixed with profit is the problem. If the same number of young people died of gunshot wounds there would be an outcry.
Non - nationals are simply proving to be as crazy, generally, as us on the roads.
ANTHONY HALPIN,
ASHTON WOOD,
HERBERT ROAD,
BRAY,
CO. WICKLOW
All roads lead to the toll There has been lot of controversy over the new section of the N4 motorway. However as I travelled to Dublin from Galway last Friday (18th Feb) night I noticed two things which have been very slyly and quietly put in place.
Given the ridiculous toll of ?2.50 for an ordinary car on the new section of the motorway, money which goes directly to Eurolink and the Government, I decided not to travel this way and instead to stick to the normal route through Kinnegad and Enfield (which was quite busy, by the way).
Firstly, even though I knew the way originally, I found it tricky to get onto the right road to Kinnegad.
All the road signs pertaining to Dublin in the area have been changed and now all signs for Dublin point towards the motorway and the toll bridge. All signs for Dublin on the original N4 have been changed to "R" routes to Kinnegad and Enfield, even though it is still a viable route to Dublin.
Secondly, when I eventually found the original N4, I noticed that even though the road had not changed in quality since the opening of the new section of motorway, it is now classified as a "Regional" or "R" road and hence had its speed limit reduced to 80kph.
I fail to see how it was safe to drive on this road at 100kph three months ago but now is not safe to do so.
So why change these signs and speed limits? Why not signpost all the routes available, using the green for "N" roads and "M" for motorways, and let us choose which road we wish to use? Are the revenues from the new, ignored motorway section so far below expectations that we have to be forced onto it through misuse of signs and retardation of all other routes?
While I will keep shunning the new motorway section and stick to the original route, I have to sympathise with the people who actually live in Enfield. While there is now a motorway which bypasses the Enfield bypass, the quickest and cheapest route remains to drive through Enfield town itself.
If the new motorway section had been built properly without a toll, using our income tax, road tax, petrol tax etc., then there would be none of the traffic problems through Enfield, no large container trucks driving through the town, no protests holding up traffic, no bad publicity and the people in the area and who use the road might have actually praised the Government for doing something right at last.
Instead, as usual, the job was done badly, was overdue and it will cost us money everytime we use it. Thank God I'm leaving this country in six months.
ADRIAN CORCORAN,
ORANMORE,
CO. GALWAY
Glorification of terrorism I write regarding the Bill passed in the British Parliament outlawing the glorification of terrorism. This in a week where we saw further images of the British army perpetrating sadistic acts of brutality on Iraqi youths and further revealing acts of barbarism and State sponsored terrorism carried out by the Americans in Iraq.
The Bush regime is torturing people in its Guantanamo Bay Gulag and throughout the world through "extraordinary rendition" with the assistance of a number of governments within the EU, and his good pals in the U.K.
No doubt, Mr Ahern will once again lead the pilgrims to Washington carrying the bowl with one hand and an ingratiating pat on Bush's back with the other.
This act of homage sullies our national emblem. Mr. Ahern should be made aware that St. Patrick used the shamrock for the glorification of God and Christian ideals.
JOE HARVEY,
THORNDALE,
LETTERKENNY,
CO DONEGAL
Gardai need a REAL Reserve I refer to the kerfuffle about the new proposed Volunteer Garda Reserve, and agree that it is a great idea in principle. We have in Ireland since the 1930's a volunteer Army reserve, a volunteer Navy Reserve, a volunteer Civil Defence etc. However, the idea is so appealing I believe the Government should not stop with just the Garda.
A volunteer politician corps should also be set up, whereby recruits will never be paid, and while in training should not tell lies, take bribes, or drive around in the most expensive cars on the market, while collecting an average ?80,000 per year in expenses alone.
The new Garda Volunteer Corps or Reserve would not be paid, nor would they be allowed to drive official cars, nor will they have radios, and little or no power. So why not just dress them up, and tie their hands behind their backs, and send them out to a collapsing society and hope for the best!
The Gardai need a reserve and should not oppose those who wish to join it. And the Government should not try to impose preconditions on whether they have truncheons or not.
When a man is in police uniform, he is a policeman, and not a half policeman. So please, both sides, get your act together and stop fighting, get on with it.
WILLIAM A. THOMAS,
STRONGFORT,
CRAUGHWELL,
CO. GALWAY
The law and Mr O Cuiv I refer to Aideen Sheehan's report of Mr O'Cuiv's speech to the AGM of Irish Farm House Holidays in Co. Laois. (Irish Independent 18th February 2006).
Ms Sheehan failed to report one of Minister O Cuiv's more extraordinary statements at that AGM.
Of particular interest to us here in Dingle was the Minister's comment that "The Heavy Hand of the law will not resolve underlying issues, because a law that people do not buy into, is unenforceable."
How on earth can Minister O Cuiv reconcile such a statement with his treatment of the people of Dingle where he has enforced his own "law that the people do not buy into" with his now infamous Placenames Order 2005 and abolished our 700 year old town name?
Not only that, but he says he will not recognise our democratically legally held plebiscite to reinstate our rightful bilingual names, Dingle, Daingean Ui Chuis.
Once again it is apparent that Mr O'Cuiv believes in one set of laws and rights for the people outside of the Gaeltacht and a completely different set of laws and rights for the people within the Gaeltacht.
KATE O CONNOR,
DINGLE,
CO. KERRY
