Trevor Laffan: I was involved in car chases -the gardaí need reassurances

I wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago about the poor standard of driving in this country.

It was published in The Echo on Monday morning, the day after the crash in Kildare in which five teenagers were killed after driving on the wrong side of the motorway.

It seems, judging by some of the comments I received, that readers thought I was referencing that accident. That was not the case.

In fact, I had submitted that piece to The Echo a week before that fatal incident. I was merely giving my opinion on the state of driving here generally, which I happen to think is atrocious.

I suggested that a model of defensive driving should be introduced to improve the awareness and observation of drivers which would help to reduce the number of accidents.

I acknowledge that all the instruction in the world won’t prevent drivers deliberately driving badly, but it may improve the behaviour of ordinary, decent drivers.

Criminal behaviour is a completely different matter and in the aftermath of the recent motorway incidents, there has been a huge call for action.

There is talk of bringing about a change in the legislation, with greater penalties for offenders and for pursuit training for members of An Garda Síochána.

Whatever about the former, pursuit training will be more problematic for a number of reasons.

Firstly, lack of enforcement is already a huge issue here and that’s down to a lack of resources.

In the aftermath of the Kildare incident, there was a phone in programme on RTÉ radio where drivers gave their opinions on garda visibility on national routes.

Several callers who regularly drive the length and breadth of the country said they did so without ever seeing a garda on duty. Lack of enforcement was cited by many as a major cause of poor driving standards.

They also suggested there was little or no deterrent to criminality when you are unlikely to engage with those tasked with enforcing the law. Fair point.

Anyone who has driven in America will tell you that motorists tend to comply with the law because there is a high probability that any infringement will be detected.

There are numerous videos on social media every day showing the police carrying out traffic stops for seemingly minor incidents.

Not signalling while exiting a motorway, for instance. Coming to a halt beyond a stop line, travelling a few miles above the official speed limit, or having an issue with a number plate.

The U.S police can do this because they have no shortage of resources. They can flood an area with police in a matter of minutes.

Manpower is tight here and has been for years. Supervisors continue to struggle to find resources to fulfil their daily requirements.

Garda visibility is at an all-time low, and that won’t improve over the next six months while Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

But we’ve been told that gardaí have been liaising with Devon and Cornwall Police, and the UK College of Policing, to activate vehicle pursuit training before the end of the year.

The Garda Representative Association is concerned about the ability to deliver the training within that time-frame. The Government will be hosting major events across the country in the coming months so there will be a major draw on garda resources for security purposes.

Along with the daily demands on the Force, there is also the upcoming visit to our shores by President Trump, so who will be available for this training?

More importantly, who will even want it?

We’ve seen in the past how quickly the State can throw a member of An Garda Síochána under the bus when a pursuit goes wrong. How will that change going forward?

When a member engages a forced stop and someone gets injured as a result, will that member be protected? Will he or she even take the chance? I know I wouldn’t.

Back in the 1980s and ’90s, I was often involved in the pursuit of stolen cars. There were other occasions too when I exceeded the speed limit in cases where, for example, an ambulance needed an escort in an emergency situation. They were stressful times and there was always a certain amount of risk involved.

On one occasion, I was involved in a traffic accident while driving a patrol car in pursuit of a stolen car. When my superintendent at the time was made aware of it, he was only concerned with my welfare and told me not to worry about the damage to the cars, that can all be fixed, he told me. That was appreciated.

But, despite that reassurance, I found myself at the receiving end of a civil action taken against the State by a witness to the accident and I ended up in court defending my actions while I had been carrying out my official duty.

I felt like the bad guy, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

It worked out OK for me, but I decided at the time that I would no longer take part in pursuits. I wasn’t prepared to risk prosecution, and potentially my career, for doing my job. I wasn’t the only one either.

Labour TD Alan Kelly, Chairman of the Oireachtas Media Committee, has identified that problem and has called for new legislation to ensure that “when guards that are trained, are in pursuit, that they are protected to the standard of their training”.

“We need to ensure that guards are trained, and the vehicles and the technology are there to support An Garda Síochána,” he said. “There is a real worry for gardaí that they might become personally liable for issues with pursuit.”

That worry, and the lack of resources, will be difficult to resolve.