Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-27-Speech-4-019"
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"en.20060427.2.4-019"2
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".
Madam President, I wish to congratulate Mr Titley on his excellent report.
The estimated 2 500 lives a year that eCall could save throughout Europe is significant and therefore it needs to be taken seriously as a means of curbing high levels of road fatalities. Legislation to take this on board is vital in Member States. It is vital that the emergency services, such as ambulances, police and fire services, arrive at the scene of an accident within the first hour – the golden hour – after the accident occurs.
As of today, 134 people have lost their lives on Irish roads since the beginning of this year. Some of these lives could have been saved by eCall. Unfortunately no technology can replace the driver’s fundamental responsibility to drive safely and adhere to the rules of the road.
Recently, a disproportionate number of those fatalities on Irish roads have, sadly, been Eastern European citizens who are working in Ireland. The majority of these tragedies occurred on secondary roads and were the result of driving under the influence of alcohol, speed and, in my opinion, the fact that they were driving on the left-hand side of the road in Ireland – a practice to which they are not accustomed. To compound the situation, many of them were in left-hand-drive cars which they had brought from their own homes in Eastern Europe. It is heartbreaking for any family to lose a member through a road accident, but it is even more tragic and traumatic when the repatriation of a broken body is needed.
I earnestly call for an awareness programme to be put in place to alert non-Irish nationals on this issue. EU Member States badly need a cohesive, united road-safety policy, and the issue of which side of the road cars drive on in the Member States must also be looked at closely at this stage.
In conclusion, mechanically propelled vehicles have become weapons of mass destruction on our roads and we have become somewhat immune to that destruction. We are elected legislators. Let us do all in our power to stop the carnage on our roads."@en1
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