The chairman of the National Safety Council in the Irish Republic has been accused of unfairly attacking young drivers by suggesting that any reduction in their insurance premiums would mean more deaths on the roads.
Safety chief Edward Shaw claimed current high premiums acted as a deterrent and warned that reductions would put more young, inexperienced drivers on the roads and have "a disastrous impact" on the accident toll.
The Irish National Youth Council denounced his remarks as "outrageous", as did the Motor Insurance Justice Action Group (MIJAG), a young driver lobby which is campaigning for "a fair deal" for motorists under-25. But there was strong support for his criticism from the Automobile Association.
