The party's spokesman on road safety, Shane McEntee, will recommend a national blitz on traffic signs and road markings as part of efforts to improve driving conditions and reduce accidents. The blitz would see modern signs introduced during an agreed time period. The system would be similar to the 2004 replacement of mileage speed signs with new kilometre signs. Local authorities would receive funding to ensure the new signs were introduced nationally and that all road markings met similar quality standards.

The document will also recommend a comprehensive safety audit of the entire national road network to assess the quality of road surfaces around the country. McEntee said 30% of fatal road accidents are caused by poor road surfaces.

"The poor condition of our roads, particularly our regional and rural roads, presents a serious threat to motorists and pedestrians, but is largely ignored by the experts. Anyone who drives regularly on non-national routes will be familiar with the kind of conditions I'm talking about, " the Meath TD said.

The audit, which the party estimates would cost in the region of 6m, would be modelled on a system in the United Kingdom where the authorities undertake ongoing assessments of the quality of road surfaces for safety purposes. The Fine Gael document will recommend that local authorities be required to tackle any maintenance problems identified in the safety audit.

The audit would be undertaken every year.