Dear Editor,
I write in response to a letter submitted by Mags of Oranmore and the other responses.

In her letter she may have deviated slightly from her original complaint as she incorrectly attempted to solve the speeding and tailgating problems mentioned. However she states, 'On one stretch of the dual carriageway, I drive on the outside lane at speed of 100 km/h as that's where I need to be to correctly exit the next roundabout.'

Mags, based on my understanding of the 2007 edition of the Rules of the Road, you appear to have complied with most of the rules in pages 105-107, which states, 'You must normally drive in the left-hand lane of a dual-carriageway… You may use the outer lane of a two-lane or three-lane dual-carriageway only for overtaking and when turning right a short distance ahead… Decide as early as possible which exit you need to take and get into the correct lane when it is safe to do so'.

Page 91 of the Rules of the Road sates, 'No vehicle other than fire engines, ambulances or Garda vehicles may exceed the road speed limit' and page 197 states, 'Speeding offences carry two penalty points on payment, or four penalty points on conviction'.

The exact time and distance to move into the right hand lane for a right turn on a dual carriageway is not included in the Rules of the Road and it does not mention moving back into the left lane to allow those exceeding the speed limit to overtake. However, we do know that a car travelling at speed of 120 km/h overtaking a car at speed of 100 km/h requires a time of 21 seconds and 630 metres to overtake safely from the recommended two second safety rule following position to reaching the safe two second safety rule position in front.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and The Institute of Advanced Motorists, it is recommended drivers signal their intention to leave a motorway at the 300 metre marker. Therefore positioning for a third or fourth exit at 600 to 1,000 metres from a roundabout on a dual carriageway with a100 km/h speed limit where lanes must be changed while other road users are exceeding the speed limit would in my opinion be considered reasonable in many such situations.

In Ireland, 650 drivers may have received penalty points for failing to drive to the left, but almost a thousand times as many drivers have received penalty points for exceeding the speed limit. Speeding was a factor in many serious road traffic accidents which have occurred since the invention of the motor car over one hundred year ago. In Ireland, 25,220 road users were fatally injured and 461,471 injured in a 45 year period between 1961 and 2006.

The 'Crashed Lives' ads, 'Micilín' and 'Errin' won two silver medals for Best Commercial advertisement over 30 seconds as well as a Bronze for Best Campaign. Launched in 2007, 'Crashed Lives' is a TV ad campaign developed for the Road Safety Authority and features the stories of real victims, told by members of their families.

Road users out there, please share the public roads and allow sufficient time for your journey and join with Mags from Oranmore as we read aloud from page 7 of the Rules of the Road as follows: 'We can save lives and prevent injury by changing our behaviour. Reading these rules and applying them will help achieve this goal… It's our responsibility… It's our choice'.

Yours sincerely,
Frank Cullinane

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