The Garda Representative Association has called for Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to urgently address the shortage of forensic collision investigators, who carry out inspections at road traffic incidents.
There are currently 11 investigators to cover the country, in spite of a recommendation by the Garda Roads Policing Bureau that there should be at least 24.
That recommendation is based on 138 incidents. There were 160 incidents on Irish roads last year, with 174 fatalities.
Gardaí have also said the commissioner needs to draft a policy and procedure to ensure consistency in these investigations.
An Garda Síochána has said a competition for new investigators will be announced in the near future.
Watch: Garda Shane Bonner says number of forensic collision inspectors is insufficient
Forensic collision investigators are specially trained gardaí who investigate road traffic fatalities and collisions all over the country.
Seven investigators dealt with 95 serious collisions last year. One investigator had to work at 18 fatal collisions last year, three times the recommended workload of six.
Garda Shane Bonner, who works in Roads Policing in Dublin Castle, said the shortage is having a detrimental impact on the investigation reports that have to be produced for the coroner or criminal courts, which comprise evidence from witnesses, technical analysis and CCTV.
"How do you produce proper files and proper investigations, to the court, to the family, to everyone that deserves the proper information out," he asked.
"If it's a fatal accident and one person dies and two or three have gone to hospital, the people that are left behind are suffering, normally, very serious life-changing injuries," Gda Bonner said.
"They have their claims and the way they're going to be looked after is affected by the delays in this as well.
"It's families of the victims who are waiting for information.
"It's a very simple fix," he said.
"This isn't complicated. We're not calling for a whole new departure. We're calling for proper numbers of specifically trained and qualified experts that can do it," he added.
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Garda Chris O'Meara was the only forensic collision investigator available to investigate a fatal collision in Donegal last year, even though he was off duty at the time.
The collision occurred on a Friday, but he was not called until the following afternoon, by which time it was too late to travel because he would have arrived in darkness.
He left his home in Tipperary at 3am the following morning, meaning the scene (and the road) had remained sealed off for over 42 hours.
Gda O’Meara said the longer it takes to get to a scene, the more likely it is that evidence will be lost.
Tyre marks and other evidence need to be gathered as quickly as possible but can be adversely affected by rain and other weather events.
Gardaí also say the commissioner needs to draft a policy and procedures document to ensure the highest standards in fatal and life-altering collision investigations are maintained.
Forensic collision investigators say they are the only branch of An Garda Síochána who are seeking more oversight and more supervision.
They say there has been no national senior forensic collision investigator since the last one resigned two years ago.
In a statement, Garda Headquarters said that a preliminary process is currently under way prior to announcing a new competition for forensic collision investigators in the near future.
