O’Gorman raises concerns over licence ‘data gap’ of drivers involved in crashes

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has said “information gaps” in data around the category of licences of drivers involved in incidents need to be addressed.Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Today show, O’Gorman said at present the exact category of permit was not recorded and this had led to a big gap in information for the Road Safety Authority (RSA). It was unclear whether the RSA would be able to break down data in future incidents under the forthcoming Government legislation regarding e-scooters, he said.O’Gorman said decisions on road safety needed to be driven by data. He acknowledged that insurance companies probably had such data, but these details were not collected by the RSA. The decision in relation to children and e-scooters had been correctly based on data, he said.READ MORE“There you have an example of policymaking being data-driven, appropriately so, in my view. And I am concerned that we have a data gap here in this area of unaccompanied drivers using work vehicles and the level of accidents that are taking place there,” O’Gorman said.Having data helped to understand significance of risk and how resources should be prioritised. “You can’t solve a problem until you have measured it,” he said. O’Gorman pointed out that at present the gardaí cannot share incident data with local authorities. He said he hoped the proposed National Vehicle and Driver File Bill, expected to come before the Dáil later this year, will allow that information to be exchanged.As well as allowing sharing of crash black spot details, the Bill will permit gardaí to pull a driver’s file on a device at a checkpoint for access to information.[ E-scooters: The proposed ban, the penalties, the mandatory equipment explainedOpens in new window ]O’Gorman said the RSA was “not fit for purpose” as currently configured. “The RSA does two jobs. It looks after the NCT, the theory test, drivers’ licences – all important work,” he said. “But I think it shouldn’t be doing that while at the same time focusing on what I think should be its core work, which is actually ending the carnage on our roads, making our roads safer.”