Reducing the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) on new cars could improve road safety, according to David Baddeley, MD of Volvo Cars Ireland.
He was speaking at a recent Road Safety Seminar at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, organised by the Swedish Embassy in association with the Department of Transport.
David Baddeley said a person in a 30-year old car was 10 times more likely to die in an accident than if they were protected by a modern car in that same accident and the risk was on a sliding scale related to the age of the car and the engineering solutions built in.
"A major impact on fatalities and serious injuries in Ireland could be achieved by helping people update the vehicles in use on our roads, however that requires a change in attitude and behaviour towards safety."
He said a financial incentive would be one of the quickest ways to kick-start a change in behaviour, and highlighted the 50% reduction in VRT for Bio-Fuel powered vehicles from the last budget. "With VRT accounting for up to 30% of the final price of a car, the impact could be considerable."
He said independent safety testing people like Euro NCAP could be used to assess vehicles.
Trish Whelan.
