But the most compelling testimony comes from the families of the victims. The bereaved speak of a pain that never eases and of living in a never-ending hell. They tell of trying to make sense of how the lives of their loved ones ended in utterly senseless circumstances.

Over Easter weekend 2005, five people died in road accidents. By last night, Easter 2006 had already claimed eight lives. That brings this year's toll so far to 122 - already up 20 on the number of deaths recorded for the same period last year.

These figures are shocking. As a nation we are deeply concerned, yet we seem to be unable to correlate that worry with our behaviour on the roads.

The latest survey on our driving habits gives a good insight into the reasons for our extremely high fatality rate. In the Europewide study by the SATRE group, 4% of Irish drivers admitted to driving over the alcohol limit at least once in the previous week and almost 60% of under 25s admitted to speeding on main roads between towns.

Furthermore over half of the under-25-year olds admitted to taking at least one call a day on their hand-held mobile phones while driving.

The older age groups displayed a greater sense of responsibility, but also revealed worrying attitudes. Ten per cent of over 55s still believe people should be able to decide for themselves how much they can drink before driving and overall more than 30% of drivers make mobile phone calls while behind the wheel.

All the penalties in the world cannot legislate for personal responsibility. Every single individual who gets behind the wheel of a car must consider the consequences of not taking care on the roads. Driving a car is like handling a loaded gun. Just one slip can be lethal.