Shock advertising "not enough to end young road deaths" - Parsley

7.45.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 26th Apr 2007

Alliance Party Youth Affairs spokesperson Ian James Parsley

Alliance Party Youth Affairs spokesperson Ian James Parsley has said shock tactics in advertising will do little to halt road deaths without action from government.

The North Down Councillor stated: "So-called 'hard-hitting' road safety adverts have little or no impact on the people they need to target. Young people, understandably, simply do not believe such things will happen to them - until they do, and it is too late.

"I would call on the new Minister for the Environment to make a proper road strategy an absolute priority. Our objective should be to bring the annual road fatality toll in Northern Ireland down to below 100 by the end of the decade.

"Advertising will not make the crucial difference. Instead, we need government action on appropriate enforcement of the rules of the road, better education for inexperienced drivers, and improved road structures.

"On enforcement, we need a lower limit on rural single carriageways which must be properly enforced, and penalties imposed on careless drivers even where no accident occurs. On education, we need to get rid of the ridiculous 45mph restricted limit, and instead allocate resources to advanced motoring and investing in safer driving. On structures, we need a general policy that, where a new road is constructed on a primary route, it should be to dual carriageway expressway standard with a central barrier the whole length of it. The result would be safer drivers using safer roads.

"Such measures will do infinitely more to slash carnage on our roads than any advert, no matter how 'hard-hitting'. There is no substitute for better enforcement, better education, and better structures."

ENDS