Seeing the traffic corps is believing you can be caught

The traffic corps is not the only method of Garda enforcement, but cutting it back sends a wrong signal

“YOU HAVE got to believe that if you transgress you will get caught. And if you get caught the penalty will be severe.”

Such was the advice to the government from Australian Geoff Cliffe of the Victorian Police at a road safety conference in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham as far back as October 1998.

The conference heard there were three Es in road safety; engineering, education and enforcement.

After a slow start, Ireland got newer, safer roads.

Education featured and still features shock advertisements depicting the consequences of crashes. It also featured new approaches to driving lessons and learning the rules of the road and packages for schools.

Enforcement included much new legislation to provide for penalty points and dealing with issues from drink driving to vehicle testing.

In addition, in the last year gardaí imposed 300,000 fines to motorists for breaches of the Road Traffic Act.

The Garda presence on the road is a suitable deterrent. On the roads Garda cars are capable of reading the registrations of passing vehicles and identifying those which are not taxed or insured. The Garda Traffic Corps also analyses the scene of incidents and provides a range of intelligence-led information for safety campaigns.

In Dublin the Casualty Reduction Implementation Plan, which combined high-visibility enforcement and education, resulted in the city being the safest capital among the EU 27 for road users. In 2009, the fatality count in the city was 32; in 2010 it was 19 and up to December 16th this year it was just nine.

In response to news of the proposal to break up the traffic corps, the Department of Justice said the option was just one of a “series of options”. It said operational matters relating to the Garda were a matter for the Garda Commissioner.

Indeed, there is no suggestion that gardaí would not continue to enforce the Road Traffic Act.

However, the logic of Mr Cliffe’s advice is compelling: the visible presence of the traffic corps allows motorists to consider that they might be caught if they transgress.

Making the traffic corps less visible can only increase the belief – rightly or wrongly – that people will not be caught.