Road safety Minister says enforcement stepped up
Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning, Séamus Brennan said that the report pre-dated the introduction of the penalty points system when Gardaí put in a big effort and motorists were forced to slow down.
The penalty points system is credited with saving 70 lives since its introduction late last year.
The Minister conceded that it was a struggle to change the behaviour of Irish motorists, but he felt that the public was responding well and there was a reduction in road deaths.
Mr Brennan said he had been 'concerned' that motorists' fear of the penalty points could be 'wearing off', but he believed the announcement of the extension of the system would reverse this.
Under current plans, motorists can been penalised from July for not wearing seat-belts.
The leaked report, entitled Review of Ireland's Road Safety Strategy, also found that the chances of a motorists being caught for drink driving was 1 in 300.
