New research conducted by AIG has revealed that the majority of Irish drivers do not believe there is enough of a Garda presence on our roads to tackle both drink driving and speeding.
Independent research was commissioned by AIG across a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people to produce the AIG Road Safety Report which investigates attitudes towards road safety and driver behaviour on Irish roads. The research reveals that some 66 per cent of people do not believe there are enough Gardaí on the roads to tackle drink driving.
This was slightly less of a concern among the male sample, with 25 per cent of males versus 16 per cent of females of the view that there is a sufficient Garda presence to tackle drink driving. Meanwhile, only 23 per cent feel that there is a sufficient Garda presence on the roads to combat speeding. Research findings also highlighted that the vast majority (74 per cent ) feel that the current condition of Irish roads contributes to the number of accidents that occur.
This statistic can be linked to a clear call from the public to make our roads safer, with 60 per cent of respondents looking for the Government to do more in this regard. In addition, 71 per cent of people surveyed stated that they rarely see passengers not wearing their seatbelt, which may be deemed a positive result by An Garda Síochána and the wider road safety community. However, 55 per cent of drivers claim to regularly see someone driving while using a handheld device.
Commenting on the research, Aidan Connaughton, head of consumer insurance at AIG Ireland, said: “The findings of our research offer a fascinating insight into Irish motorists’ behaviour and we hope that this will help to raise awareness around some of the issues we face on our roads. While it’s somewhat reassuring that our research shows that 80 per cent of Irish drivers feel we need to take more responsibility on the roads, the reality is there are still too many road fatalities and there is still work to be done.”
“AIG is committed to promoting safe driving and we have brought innovation and new technology to the market through our telematics offering to reward good driving behaviour and encourage safe driving."
