1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186 
Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA, offered a progress
Page 47
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
report on what has been achieved since the RSA was inaugurated last September with around 300 employees.
"By the summer there will be 18 transport officers on the ground working on road haulage enforcement," he said.
We have four qualified inspectors who can stop trucks and check them for maintenance issues. The Traffic Corps will reach 1200, this yearend there are onboard cameras in each car. Depressingly, they arrest 400 people each week on suspicion of drink-driving and another 250 for using mobile phones.
"We will have 600 speed cameras by the end of the year run by private companies that get paid for the number of vehicles that pass them. They will be well signposted and could cut deaths by 70 a year and iaccidents by 700.
"The IRHA is critically important to us," added Brett. "We can stand on the outside throwing stones at each other or we can get down in the trenches and work together and get dirty."
Brett said his priority for 2007 was to regulate the use of agricultural vehicles used for hire-or-reward haulage: "When I see a 16-year-old driving a Fastrac I am very worried for the safety of my wife and kids. It's about unlicensed haulage, fuel tax, road worthiness and fitness for purpose of the actual vehicles. "We are going to have to bang our heads together on this."
Brett outlined a raft of measures that form the RSAs short-term agenda. These include reducing the backlog of driving tests; developing a system of roadworthiness testing; better signage and the use of beams and readers to cut bridge strikes; and a simpler system of permits for heavy haulage.
"We are working with Vosa to tackle why 500 prohibition notices a month are served on Irish vehicles," he said "Many are for small issues but there are a significant number that are a shame to the industry, including serious brake problems and trailers in appalling conditions."
The RSA is also responsible for introducing the driver CPC and Brett's colleague Michael Rowland outlined progress so far. A consultation document will be published this month and the consultation period will last six weeks. "If you have an LGV licence by September 2009 you will have acquired rights but you must undergo periodic training," he said.