This article is from page 12 of the 2006-10-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE farming leader, Joe Carrick, has called for stiffer sanctions to be put in place against people who break the speed limit – including a system of fines based on income.
The Clare Macra na Feirme president also called for a graduated licence system which would only allow inexperienced drivers behind the wheel during daylight hours and would place an automatic ban for provisional drivers caught speeding.
“You should be fined in relation to what you earn,” said Mr Carrick. “A fine of €80 can mean the world for some people, but it is nothing at all to others. If you look at business executives, flying around from meeting to meeting, they would put down an €80 fine as a business lunch. It means nothing to them. You only ever have a driving test during the day time. I think that they should have tests at night time, or bring in a licence that only allows inexperienced drivers to drive in daylight hours.”
Speaking after a special road safety workshop organised as part of the Macra National Conference over the weekend, Mr Carrick also called for driving to be introduced as a subject in secondary schools.
“You have to learn from someone and education in schools is the best place to reach everyone. When you first get your provisional licence, you start to learn all of these bad habits. And then you try to lose them again before your test.
“Education would help people not to pick up the bad habits in the first place.
“If you are on a provisional licence and you are caught speeding, I would be in favour of an automatic ban. A car is not a toy, it is a deadly weapon and should be treated as such.”
Macra na Feirme launched a national road safety proposal last week calling for major overhauls to the current system.
“It is a big big problem. If you look at that village last week, there were five people killed out of a village of 200,” continued Mr Carrick. “A minute of madness can cause a lifetime of agony. That village will never get over that tragedy.”
Macra na Feirme have also proposed the introduction of a trainee license, which a person would be required to get before graduating to a provisional. This would involve young drivers only being allowed to drive while accompanied by a qualified driving instructor. After the completion of five lessons, the learner driver would then be eligible to apply for a provisional license.