Road safety policy “to be rural proofed”

MACRA na Feirme’s national president Catherine Buckley has said that any measures by the Road Safety Authority that will improve road safety for young drivers such as the proposed Graduated Driving Licensing “should be seriously looked at and debated to see if they are practical to implement and can improve road safety for all road users”.

Ms Buckley made that point that Macra had developed a policy document ‘Apply the Breaks’  a number of years ago. The farming organisation for young people had already lobbied the Department of Transport to explore road safety options for young drivers such as  those outlined under the graduated licensing system. 

She called for the application of any new measures “to be rural proofed” to ensure they are feasible for rural drivers to implement. 

 “The reality is that for people living in rural areas, the only feasible transport option is by private car,” stated the Mna F president.  “As an organisation, which represents young farmers and young people in rural areas, the effective functioning of voluntary organisations like Macra depends on our members being able to travel to meetings and social events”.

Following further consultation with her organisation’s members, Catherine Buckley promised a submission to the RSA as part of its public consultation for policy development process.