ONCE AGAIN, IRISH mainstream media joins the conspiracy to blame inert roads for the actions of high-speed drivers. "A horrific 24-hour period on the roads over the weekend save seven people killed in three smashes" says the front page story in the Irish Examiner today. And although the bent metal, engine ripped out of the car, and flattened roof suggest a high-energy impact, no one dares suggest that the vehicle involved in the fatal accident might have been traveling above the posted speed limit. And no commentator, even when armed with photo-documentary evidence, is willing to speculate that the inicident driver might have been traveling too fast for conditions. Hours later, the talk show hosts get streams of text messages and callers berating the condition of Irish roads. "You get caught behind an articulated lorry and when the road straightens out, you're sometimes pressed into overtaking when the conditions aren't perfect." Right. Pressurised into pulling out on a narrow road, these drivers feel compelled to accept the risk of meeting me head-on while traveling Ireland's paved cow trails. A week does not pass by without someone approaching me driving with one set of wheels either on the centre line or with wheels over on my side of the road. A fortnight does not pass without someone with a Cork-registered car driving up my tailpipe on a national road, pedal to the metal and speedometer pegged at least 40 kph over the posted limit. These behaviours are part of the collision culture in 21st century Ireland, a culture guaranteed to produce bent metal and broken hearts across the country until someone gets serious about making people who drive carelessly learn the beauty of restraint. In some corners of the world, you can experience this beauty while walking to work when your driving license is revoked. But in Ireland, it's up to the driver to surrender his license if he exceeds 12 penalty points. All the traffic regulations can do is direct a driver to stop driving. The driver has to turn in his documents and serve out is driving suspension in a self-nominated way. And that carefree attitude about safe driving is one reason Irish car insurance costs so much and why high-speed driving fatalities will litter the Irish landscape for years to come.
Stephen Rogers -- "Roads claim seven victims in 24 hours" on the front page of the Irish Examiner, 4 February 2008.
Kathryn Hayes, Jimmy Woulfe and John Fallon -- "Friends on way to rugby match killed in head-on crash" in the News section of the Irish Examiner, 4 February 2008.
Kieran Keohane and Carmen Kuhling -- The Collision Culture ISBN 978-1904148616
