Assembly Road Safety Committee must directly involve Ministers

9.24.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 22nd Oct 2007

Alliance Economy spokesperson Cllr Ian James Parsley

Alliance Economy Spokesperson Ian James Parsley has challenged Ministers to becomes directly involved with the Assembly Road Safety Committee upon establishment, to reflect good practice in the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking after attending the Road Safety Council's AGM in Antrim, the North Down Councillor stated: "The message - North and South - is that improvements to road safety must focus on enforcement, education and engineering.

"One practical innovation in the Republic of Ireland, which serves to tackle all three of these, is the presence of Government Ministers at the Oireachtas Committee on road safety. This means there is no responsibility shirking, and that Ministers must come to the Committee with answers.

"I am encouraged that similar is promised for the Northern Ireland Assembly, and that Alliance MLAs are taking prominent roles. The lesson from south of the border is that all the relevant Ministers - not just Environment, but also Regional Development and, eventually, Justice - must directly participate.

"For enforcement and education, we may also consider delivering a copy of the new Highway Code to every household in Northern Ireland, to emphasize that the Code applies to all road users, not just learner drivers. This would match what has happened recently in the Republic.

"For engineering, we must stop the funding cutbacks to road surfacing, and hasten the process of stopping right-turn manoeuvres on primary dual carriageways. That is a lesson also from the Republic, and from Sweden, which has now surpassed the UK for the lowest road fatality rate in Europe.

"We have much to learn in Northern Ireland, and we should be leading the way, not following. With the numbers of lives being shattered on our roads - and, indeed, the resultant cost to the economy - Executive Ministers need to give this issue the highest possible priority."

ENDS