Driver behaviour has worsened in the last few years, according to research carried out by AA Car Insurance.
The survey of over 4,000 Irish drivers found that 31 percent strongly agreed that driver behaviour had got worse in recent years. A further 35 percent partially agreed while less than three percent of respondents strongly disagreed with the claim that driver behaviour had worsened.
“In recent years we have seen traffic levels return to Celtic Tiger levels and one unfortunate consequence of that does appear to have been that more motorists are experiencing incidents of bad behaviour on the part of other drivers,” said Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs. “In many ways higher traffic volumes and increased road rage incidents tend to go hand in hand but there’s certainly no excuse for poor behaviour on our roads, not only is it inconsiderate but it can be dangerous and increase the risk of an incident.”
The AA survey also found that fewer than eight percent of respondents strongly agreed that the government was treating road safety as a priority. Almost a third partially or strongly disagreed that the government was making adequate efforts to keep roads safe.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in tackling roads deaths and serious incidents in the last decade, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Faughnan added. “It’s important that government don’t become satisfied with the improvements made in recent years and turn their attention away from this area. In fact, a priority for government must be to reverse the cuts to the Garda Traffic Corps and to ensure its continued growth over the next few years to ensure we don’t slide backwards in terms of road safety.”
