Lessons must be learned from the swelling tide of tragedy on roads

It is often said that road and motorway accidents do not just happen – they are caused. There are too many variables to be definitive as to absolute causes, but what is not in question is that they are too catastrophic and too frequent and need to be stopped. So far this year, 63 people have died on our roads. Responding to a hard-hitting RTÉ report on the alarming rise in deaths, Department of Transport junior minister Jack Chambers promised to speed up reform of the Road Safety Authority this summer.

It is true that as long as there have been statistics, experts using the same figures may draw different conclusions. But one inescapable fact is that we cannot continue the way we are going.

Last year was the worst in nearly a decade for road deaths. Unless we can reverse the current trend, this year will be even worse, Mr Chambers said.

The RSA’s remit is to save lives. While it is always useful to look at any organisation to see if it can be more effective, there are many factors that need to be urgently examined.

Mr Chambers accepted “a significant improvement in enforcement” when it comes to driving laws is urgently needed. With surprising frankness, he also said: “Enforcement levels have collapsed. We need to see tangible allocations to roads policing units.”

All very reassuring, but when power and responsibility reside in the executive, it is never a good look for an administration to be pointing fingers elsewhere.

The RSA, too, has said it plans to seek an increase in the number of checks to ensure NCT compliance in cars on our roads.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’s response was similarly perplexing.

His plan for every garda shift to include a 30-minute checkpoint sounds good, but how is it to be put into practice? It also begs the question: If gardaí can be put back on the streets with a click of the fingers, why were they removed in the first place?

If there is no such unanimity on what an effective deterrent their presence is, the mystery as to why they were removed only deepens. Little wonder that sources within the force were quoted as describing the new mandatory order as “bizarre”.

Our shocking road statistics are a grave concern and demand a serious cross-government response.

The search for a scapegoat is regarded as the easiest of all hunting expeditions – not only would it be unproductive, it would be disrespectful in the context of so much heartbreak.

We need effective solutions, not general rejection of responsibility or glib instantaneous gestures.

From the depths of the sadness of the spate of road deaths, there is an imperative to change. From all these painful experiences, it may be possible to extract potent lessons. There is a deep societal need to do so.

Of those who died on the roads this year, 42pc were under the age of 30. We owe it the memories of all those taken too suddenly and too soon – and to those left behind – to end this devastating carnage.