Traffic law enforcement has become something of a joke in parts of this State because of Garda laxity in serving summonses, poor administrative oversight and the bloody-minded behaviour of some District Court judges. These are not new issues. Three years ago, when the Courts Service was forced to strike out 60,000 traffic offence cases because summonses had not been served, former minister for justice Alan Shatter told the Dáil that a departmental review was under way. Nothing appears to have happened since then because Frances Fitzgerald is currently seeking clarification on the issue.

The latest figures for motorists using mobile phones while driving, as reported by Fiona Gartland in this newspaper, show that only 36 per cent of those detected were convicted in court. Convictions are linked to the percentage of summonses served. Wexford, for instance, was one of the top performers with 46 per cent convicted and only 16 per cent of cases struck out because summonses were not served. In Kerry, in contrast, people were convicted in 15 per cent of cases. The figure in Leitrim was 17 per cent and it was 24 per cent in Tipperary.

At the same time, the use of court “poor boxes” by some judges as an alternative to fines and convictions – in spite of a recommendation for their abolition from the Law Reform Commission – has allowed motorists to escape punishment.

There has been a persistent and localised pattern of gardaí failing to serve summonses and pursue offenders, but whether that has been due to individual negligence, pressure of work or inadequate oversight is unclear. The delivery of court documents in relation to speeding offences is worse than that involving mobile phones, with fewer than half of offenders receiving summonses in recent years.

Independents 4 Change TD Tommy Broughan has been active in drawing attention to these issues. Remedial action is required on many levels but the most important change is a greater public acceptance that road traffic laws are intended to save lives.