The road to perdition

With a grim inevitability the statistics on road fatalities are rising again this year. After a brief honeymoon period ushered in by the penalty points system we have reverted to our appalling driving habits, our rudeness and our total disregard for all other road users.

We drivers and road users have no one to blame but ourselves. The Government, the gardai, local authorities all must take their share, but it is we motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who are most at fault. Every one of us flouts the law every single day. We do so with impunity and if any of our fellow road users shows any signs of objecting we just blow them out of it. Aggression, rudeness and a vile temper are all prerequisites for using the roads in Ireland; it's survival of the meanest.

Driving anywhere else in the world used always be a scary prospect for us in Ireland. We could look at the traffic swirling and honking around the Arc de Triumph in Paris and shudder, thinking things would never be that bad at home. Or you watch in awe the millions of cars driving through Cairo, no one ever indicating and with everyone ignoring the very few traffic lights, and think this is not for me; I'll stick to Ireland.

But the reality is that driving in this country is now worse than almost anywhere else. If you ever drive in the UK or even in Northern Ireland, you will notice the difference as soon as you cross the Border or drive off the boat. In the UK people are actually polite to other drivers. They will always let you in to a line of traffic, they stop at orange traffic lights and they generally obey the speed limits. They might drive disconcertingly close on your tail, but that is just the way they do it. In Ireland the attitude of drivers is a world away.

If you are coming south from Belfast, you will notice the difference as soon as you cross the Border. In Louth every cowboy is on the roads, they drive like lunatics and consequently have an appalling safety record. You will be overtaken on corners by drivers who then swerve into the narrow gap in front of you, have to avoid people coming towards you overtaking on narrow roads and generally have to have all your wits about you to stay alive.

On your way to Dublin you will regularly come across signs warning you that there are roadworks ahead, when in fact they ended weeks before. This is a phenomenon, which is repeated all over the country and leads to a situation where no one actually believes there are roadworks ahead until they are on top of them.

In Dublin you will encounter the most aggressive driver in Europe. He, or she, will never, ever, allow you into a lane of traffic. You will not be allowed switch lanes, if you stop at an orange traffic light the drivers behind you will be honking and shouting at your stupidity, no one ever obeys the rule about not stopping on the yellow box. On the upside you can park more or less anywhere you want once the clampers are not around and if you feel like taking an illegal turn just go ahead. If you can cause inconvenience for other drivers that seems to be an advantage, if they complain just shout and abuse them, that's the way in Dublin.

Then there is the phenomenon of the grim faced people trying to drive SUV's, these are the worst drivers on the road, the rudest and most aggressive. Their cars are their status symbol, never mind that they have difficulty driving them and many cannot even see the front of their vehicles. If you make even the slightest protest at their sheer incompetence you let yourself open to a torrent of abuse.

Cyclists are even worse. Your average cyclist will break every rule in the book on any given day. Traffic lights or lights of any kind are not for them and handsignals went out with the flood. The chances of the gardai enforcing any law where they are concerned is absolutely zero.

Pedestrians fare no better. I challenge anyone to drive through Cork City and not accept that it is the jay-walking capital of the world. People walk out in front of cars and buses with complete abandon all over the city centre. They will even walk in front of you within ten metres of a pedestrian crossing and if you hit them it's going to be your fault.

Road deaths are going to continue to rise, but before you blame Government or some other agency for that, look at your own habits first. In my last car I honked and shouted at people so much I wore out the horn, I'll try an make this one last...

Fergal Keane is a reporter for RTÉ Radio's Five Seven Live