| Survey shows Ireland’s bad driving
habits ONE in six Irish drivers say they have driven while over
the alcohol limit and almost half claim they regularly speed, according
to a survey.
Half of all motorists say they have suffered at the hands of aggressive
behaviour from other drivers within the past year, yet a quarter admit
to having behaved aggressively themselves, according to the report compiled
for Hibernian Insurance.
Meanwhile, one-in-four drivers admit they sometimes use a mobile phone
while travelling, and one-in-12 say they read incoming text messages immediately
even when driving.
And while there is broad agreement that recent safety measures have helped
reduce collisions, 12 per cent of drivers believe the introduction of
penalty points has made matters worse rather than better.
In a foreword to the report, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern says it shows there
is “broad support” for initiatives such as random breath-testing,
the ban on using hand-held mobiles while driving and the penalty points
system. However, there was not “one magic solution” to the
problem of road carnage.
The picture that emerges from the survey of 500 car owners is one in which
motorists believe they are generally law-abiding but others are not. Three-quarters
of respondents claim they never speed, but two-thirds go on to say other
motorists do.
There is a clear ignorance about the legal alcohol limit, with half of
those surveyed professing no idea what it is.
Nonetheless, the survey reveals strong support for tighter controls, with
two-thirds of motorists saying they would favour zero tolerance for any
level of driver alcohol.
Older drivers believe the behaviour of young drivers is a big cause of
crashes, in addition to speed, alcohol and drugs. One-in-five said young
people should be kept off roads completely until they reach the age of
21.
However, motorists are not prepared to pay more for using the road; three-out-of-four
expressed opposition to the introduction of congestion charges like those
in London.
The average annual mileage is just under 14,000 miles, more than twice
the European average and higher even than in the US. Commuting to work
accounts for 40 per cent of all car journeys. More than 90 per cent of
drivers say they always wear seat-belts. |
