Dublin Car Protest to the Dáil - Tuesday 3rd October Tuesday nights protest in Dublin was another great success for the campaign. There was a big turn out and the protest was a lively affair (putting it mildly!). The Gardaí at the Dáil were not expecting us and were more than a little bit surprised when the whole of Kildare St and Nassau St all the way back to Trinity College was blocked up with two lanes of noisy demonstrators. They insisted we moved on, which we eventually did, but only after we made our protest and handed in a letter to the Minister. We got a lot of media coverage including TV3, RTE2 TV News, 98 FM, Tallaght Echo, Southside People and a host of local radio stations. Next on the agenda is the Cork Protest from the Lee Fields opposite the County Hall at 2pm on Saturday 14th. We are waiting for the Equal Status Bill 2000 to be signed into affect before we start getting people to complain against the discrimination of the Insurance Industry towards young drivers. Further protests will be planned in the future. The Fianna Fail Ard Fheis is being spoken about in Dublin as a possible target. Below is a copy of the letter given in at the Dáil on Tuesday to set up a meeting with the Minister Noel Treacey following contact by his office with the Cork campaign. Regards Mick Murphy (National Organiser) Dear Minister Following correspondence between your office and my colleague Paul O'Byrne from Cork, I am writing to set up a meeting with you to discuss our deep concerns about the provision of motor insurance for young drivers. A few very simple facts from official reports will illustrate our concern. The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) FactFile 1998 says "In the period from 1992 to 1996, the relative claims cost (a combination of frequency and cost of claims) their emphasis, for non-comprehensive insurance was 97% higher for policyholders aged between 17 and 24 than it was for the 36 to 40 age group". By coincidence a recent National Roads Authority Report shows that in 1997 young male car drivers (17-24yrs) accounted for 10.8 of all drivers killed and account for 5% of the total car driver population. Therefore young male car drivers would appear to be twice as likely to be killed in a road accidents as drivers in general. All the statistical data that is in the public domain puts young car drivers at around twice the average risk. Our research shows that the average premium paid by all car drivers under 25 who are insured on their own policies is £2311 or almost five times the overall average of £480. Many young males into their early 20s even with full driving licence are paying over £3,000 for insurance. To add to our deep concerns about the way the insurance schemes for young drivers are operated, we have recently learned from the NRA that young drivers in the border counties are eight times more likely to be killed in a road accident than a Dublin driver. Dublin has the lowest serious accident and death rate. Our Campaign is countrywide but we still have to wonder what is the justification historically for the loading of drivers in the Dublin area. We are convinced that the insurance premiums are not worked out on sound actuarial data but rather on what the market allows. Of course we are very concerned about the general accident rate on Irish roads and are full in favour of the "Road to Safety" Government Strategy. We believe that the motor insurance industry needs to be thoroughly investigated by the state and action taken to allow young people to obtain reasonably priced insurance. We have the lowest number of young drivers in Europe (6% compared with the European average of 14%) due to high insurance costs. If need be, the State should run an insurance scheme for young drivers as most companies (15 out of 17) in the Private sector refuse to quote young drivers. Back Home