Road safety: Garda plans to roll out more speed cameras welcomed

Road Safety Authority (RSA) chairwoman Liz O’Donnell has “wholeheartedly” endorsed the Garda Commissioner’s plan to introduce more static-speed cameras.

Ms O’Donnell told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show she met the commissioner in August following “those terrible tragic deaths in Tipperary” when he agreed to find a budget increase of 20 per cent for speed cameras.

GoSafe cameras “do actually work” as they deter people from speeding and they detect speeding, she said.

“It’s very important that he states publicly that enforcement needs to be increased, and he is proposing a rolling out of these average speed cameras. We only have two in the country at the moment and they absolutely work.

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“They’re used in other countries. And just two weeks after they were introduced on the M7 last year there was a 99.7 per cent compliance rate. So they do work and they do slow down and change driver behaviour,” Ms O’Donnell said.

“These cameras actually change people’s behaviour and are not there to actually criminalise people.

“Surveys are showing that people are routinely speeding and completely disregarding the speed limits. That’s why we welcome the review of the speed limits, which the Government is currently doing and is preparing the legislation now for that,” she said.

When asked if she would like to see more gardaí on road-policing units, Ms O’Donnell said “of course”.

There had been 1,100 roads policing personnel some years ago, and this figure was now down to 650 which was a challenge for the Garda commissioner and the Government in terms of recruitment and allocation of resources, she added.

“I agree with Minister McEntee ... when she says we need visible and constant policing, and that’s really only achieved by people on the ground, people at the side of the road visibly. And it’s worth saying that 49 per cent of the fatalities happened at the weekend and at night. We have evidence-based strategies to put in place.”

Ms O’Donnell said resources were also an issue for the RSA. “We’re struggling to complete all of the actions and we are required to do in our strategy because we lack the resources and the Garda commissioner will need resources to put these in place.

Average-speed cameras are expensive, she said: “I think each unit costs about €30,000 to €50,000. So you know it’s going to cost money.”

The RSA was also concerned about the driving test and wanted to see the curriculum improved, Ms O’Donnell said. “Young drivers are being killed and are being responsible for many crashes. But we need to improve that curriculum and that driving experience so that when people pass their test and they are novice drivers that they are much more aware of a new environment on the road.

“All of this, it’s all part of our strategy. But we need to be resourced in the Road Safety Authority to do all the things that need to be done.”