Road Safety Authority
Encyclopedia
The Road Safety Authority, RSA, is an authority to which the Irish Government has devolved control of much of the work of the Department of Transport, and was established in September 2006, charged with the task of improving safety on Irish roads and established under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006. It was established in response to the high amount of deaths on Irish roads.
The current chairperson of the RSA is Irish broadcaster and former host of the Late Late Show Gay Byrne
.
Some controversy was caused when Mr. Byrne was shown traveling in a car with Terry Wogan when Mr. Byrne appeared not to be wearing his seatbelt. Irish Examiner 01/02/2011
Mr. Byrne has also admitted to drink driving in the past, "but said it was part of the Irish culture at the time." Source: Irish Independent.
The RSA's latest annual report, for 2010, can be accessed here.
The RSA's commitments under the Croke Park Agreement can be accessed here.
The RSA was mentioned in relation to public agencies continuing to operate outside of the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, in a speech delivered by Emily O'Reilly in 2010. Source:"Address by Emily O'Reilly - Ombudsman and Information Commissioner at Institute of Public Administration & Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting - Conference on Good Governance"
In 2010 the Road Safety Authority published it's Customer Charter, which can be accessed here.
The RSA and An Garda Síochána enforce the licensing provisions of the Road Transport Acts.
"As well as a fine, if you are an unlicensed haulier you can expect the RSA to look closely at your compliance with other laws, such as those covering:
Drivers’ hours rules
Road traffic requirements
Roadworthiness of your vehicles and trailers." Source:RSA.ie
The RSA is also responsible for monitoring progress of The National Road Safety Strategy (2007-2012) which aims to reduce collisions, deaths and injuries on Irish roads by 30%. Achieving this would bring Ireland in line with countries that are considered to have the safest roads in the world – such as Holland, Sweden and the UK.
The authority subsequently announced it was considering a number of practical options to further its aim to cut death rates among the country's young male drivers, including the possibility of a late-night driving curfew for all male drivers under the age of 25.
Other recent initiatives include the recommendation of a number of changes to Ireland's National Car Test
, which is supervised by the RSA, requiring vehicles older than ten years to be tested every year as opposed to biennially, while stricter controls will be introduced on non-functioning fault warning lights, overly noisy exhausts, and tinted windows and windscreens.
In October 2009, it was announced that the RSA had struck an agreement under which the disqualification of drivers in Ireland and in the UK will be mutually recognised. The accord, which is the first such deal between two EU member states, will come into effect in February 2010.
In 2011 RTE
revealed that individuals in some of the National Car Testing Service centres could issue an NCT car safety certificate on payment of €100 for cars with serious safety defects. The tests are subcontracted to and conducted by Applus.
In June 2011 Ireland was ranked in sixth place for road safety in the EU.
The current chairperson of the RSA is Irish broadcaster and former host of the Late Late Show Gay Byrne
Gay Byrne
Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne is a veteran Irish presenter of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999...
.
Some controversy was caused when Mr. Byrne was shown traveling in a car with Terry Wogan when Mr. Byrne appeared not to be wearing his seatbelt. Irish Examiner 01/02/2011
Mr. Byrne has also admitted to drink driving in the past, "but said it was part of the Irish culture at the time." Source: Irish Independent.
The RSA's latest annual report, for 2010, can be accessed here.
The RSA's commitments under the Croke Park Agreement can be accessed here.
The RSA was mentioned in relation to public agencies continuing to operate outside of the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, in a speech delivered by Emily O'Reilly in 2010. Source:"Address by Emily O'Reilly - Ombudsman and Information Commissioner at Institute of Public Administration & Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting - Conference on Good Governance"
In 2010 the Road Safety Authority published it's Customer Charter, which can be accessed here.
Functions
Amongst the functions of the RSA are the promotion of road safety, research on accidents and road safety, driver testing and licensing, as well as establishing vehicle-related and other safe driving standards.The RSA and An Garda Síochána enforce the licensing provisions of the Road Transport Acts.
"As well as a fine, if you are an unlicensed haulier you can expect the RSA to look closely at your compliance with other laws, such as those covering:
Drivers’ hours rules
Road traffic requirements
Roadworthiness of your vehicles and trailers." Source:RSA.ie
The RSA is also responsible for monitoring progress of The National Road Safety Strategy (2007-2012) which aims to reduce collisions, deaths and injuries on Irish roads by 30%. Achieving this would bring Ireland in line with countries that are considered to have the safest roads in the world – such as Holland, Sweden and the UK.
Initiatives
The RSA's "He drives, she dies" campaign, which aimed to raise awareness among female drivers of the risks of getting into cars with men they feel may not drive safely, came in for some criticism in the Irish media. The country's Broadcasting Complaints Commission also received a number of complaints fom members of the public relating to the campaign. RSA Chief Executive Noel Brett defended the campaign as justified by accident statistics, saying that "women need to know that they are being killed through male-dominated driver errors such as speeding and drink driving," adding "male drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than a female driver."The authority subsequently announced it was considering a number of practical options to further its aim to cut death rates among the country's young male drivers, including the possibility of a late-night driving curfew for all male drivers under the age of 25.
Other recent initiatives include the recommendation of a number of changes to Ireland's National Car Test
National Car Test
The National Car Test is a roadworthiness test, which all cars in Ireland must undergo. It was introduced in 2000 The test must first be taken when the car is between 3½ and 4 years old and then once every two years after that...
, which is supervised by the RSA, requiring vehicles older than ten years to be tested every year as opposed to biennially, while stricter controls will be introduced on non-functioning fault warning lights, overly noisy exhausts, and tinted windows and windscreens.
In October 2009, it was announced that the RSA had struck an agreement under which the disqualification of drivers in Ireland and in the UK will be mutually recognised. The accord, which is the first such deal between two EU member states, will come into effect in February 2010.
In 2011 RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
revealed that individuals in some of the National Car Testing Service centres could issue an NCT car safety certificate on payment of €100 for cars with serious safety defects. The tests are subcontracted to and conducted by Applus.
In June 2011 Ireland was ranked in sixth place for road safety in the EU.