[Article] Tough new clamp on speeding and drink drivers

Victor

Of course a 10% cut would bring road deaths under 300 - they seem to jsut want to congratulate themselves - again - for work already done.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/2333206?view=Eircomnet

Tough new clamp on speeding and drink drivers
From:The Irish Independent
Monday, 12th January, 2004
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent

ENFORCEMENT of the traffic laws is to be greatly increased along with penalties for offenders.

The Government's strategy for the next three years will see a huge increase in checks for speeding and drink driving.

The number of drink driving checks will go up from the present annual rate of less than 13,000 to more than 450,000.

The number of speed checks will rise from some 333,000 a year to more than 11 million. On average, each driver can expect to be checked every two months - some 30 times the present frequency.

The measures have now been signed-up to by the Garda and the Government and will become law within months. They are contained in the unpublished and long-awaited 65-page Government Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006, obtained exclusively by the Irish Independent.

The key to the strategy is privatisation of a significant element of speed law enforcement, leaving gardai free to go after drink drivers in a way they've never managed before.

Private contractors will not only operate the speed camera network, but will also take over the task of collecting fines.

Gardai will still operate their own fixed and mobile cameras and the speed detection GATSO vans. But their main concentration will be on drink drivers and their powers in that regard will be strengthened when full random testing is introduced in the middle of the year. Gardai will then be able to set up a checkpoint anywhere, at any time.

Tougher penalties have also been agreed between the Garda and Government's High Level Group on Road Safety. These include:

* The minimum period of disqualification for drink driving, which currently ranges from three months to four years, to be doubled to six months and eight years.

* Convicted drink drivers will have to pay €250 towards the cost of the analysis by the State Medical Bureau of Road Safety.

* On the spot fines for drivers who are not far over the limit.

There is to be mandatory training for motorcyclists and imported cars will have to be tested before they can be registered.

A new plastic credit card-type driving licence is to be introduced. They will eventually contain penalty points, NCT-car test details and other information.

Gardai signed up to the plan at a meeting last month at which they were given assurances that the law will be changed privatising speed cameras and introducing full random breath testing.

The plan envisages road deaths falling by another 25pc over the period of the strategy. It says: "The target for this Strategy will be to achieve a reduction of 25pc (road deaths) by the end of 2006. This means that the number of road deaths in that year will not exceed 300. If this is achieved, it will result in over 100 lives being saved over the lifetime of the strategy."

"There will be a vigorous programme of enforcement by the Garda Siochana, the aim of which will be to deter speed limit infringements by creating the public impression that breaking the speed limit incurs and unacceptable risk of being caught."

It is intended that at least 50pc of all cars will pass through a speed check each month.

"As the national fleet of registered vehicles numbers over 1.85m this will require an annual number of checks of approximately 11.1m," the document reveals.

LFCFan

privatisation of the Speed Cameras will only lead to the company wanting to maximise profits and who's to stop them dictating what is and isn't over the limit, ie. Zero Teloerance, 1 MPH over the limit and you're done! This could have disasterous consequences. We need a dedicated traffic corp in this country that are not interested in profits, only in safety and stopping dangerous drivers!

Victor

Originally posted by LFCFan
privatisation of the Speed Cameras will only lead to the company wanting to maximise profits

Indeed that is what they are in business for, they are not charities. However the contract doesn't necessarily have to mean they make exorbitant profit from "zero tolerance" - the clampers get paid a fairly set amount of money to have "x" number of patrols in place, have a collection system in place etc. - they don't get the clamping money itself.

Regarding "zero tolerence" this can be adjusted as needed - one point on A3 in London used to only record only those exceeding 70 in a 40 zone (because so many people were speeding and they wanted to get the worst offenders).

Originally posted by LFCFan
who's to stop them dictating what is and isn't over the limit,

Teh law is the law after all. If you don't like it don't moan, get it changed.

LFCFan

Victor, do you enjoy disecting comments and then splitting them up and commenting on each as if they are different points just so you can say stuff like, 'if you don't like it, change it' kind of crap. I mentioned a private company deciding what is and isn't over over the limit as in zero tollerance than then you commented on this comment as if it was 2 seperate issues just so you could shoot it down. You are an apologist and seem to think that everything is running smoothly. I think it's time you woke up and saw the mess this country is in in regards infrastructure and the mess it will continue to be in if something isn't done now to stop the incompetance.

seamus

Promises, promises. The ideas are nice, but who's going to do all these checks for us?

Oh wait, the Gardai are still undermanned. Oh well, it's a nice idea..... :rolleyes:

Bee

Speed cameras are only a revenue raising exercise that does zero to reduce bad driving leading to accidents. No camera will pull in a reckless driver. A fine won't advise anyone that they drive like morons. A traffic cop can make a real impact on a persons driving with a good ticking off.The Gov needs a dedicated traffic corps to police dangerous driving whilst cracking down on speeding in urban environments.

If more speed cameras are to be installed they must only be installed at accident black spots, poor roads etc but not on motorways or any where that they can be abused by private companies.

Victor, do you enjoy disecting comments and then splitting them up

Victor always dices up comments!... As he usually can't refute anyones post unless he takes it out of context.

Bee

Victor

I'm ignoring the above.

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/2351249?view=Eircomnet

Drink-drive, speeding figures up over holiday
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 15th January, 2004

New figures which reveal an increase in speeding and drink-driving cases over the Christmas and New Year period were described as "worrying" last night by gardaí and the National Safety Council, writes Conor Lally.

The annual six-week crackdown saw a 30 per cent increase in the number of speeding offences, indicating the deterrent of the penalty points system is not as strong as 12 months ago.

Drink-driving arrests were up almost 4 per cent despite a 20 per cent decrease in the number of breath tests carried out.

The deteriorating behaviour of drivers comes despite a series of high-profile Garda and Government media campaigns promoting road safety.

In the six-week period beginning November 23rd, 1,556 people were arrested for drink-driving, compared with 1,499 12 months earlier. The number of breath tests dropped to 1,794, from 2,234. Some 25,914 motorists were caught speeding. This compares with 18,339 last year, a 30 per cent increase. Detections on the non-wearing of seat-belts dropped to 3,755 from 6,772.

The offence has been added to the penalty-points system since the 2001-2002 Christmas and New Year period.

Mr Pat Costello, chief executive of the National Safety Council, said his organisation was concerned with current trends. While the council welcomed the fact that many drivers who broke the law had been caught, more interventions by the gardaí are needed.

"Alcohol consumption in this country has risen by around 40 per cent in the last 10 years and that has been reflected in drink- driving," he said.

Mr Costello added that the out-sourcing of the speed-camera system would free Garda resources to tackle drink-driving. Stronger powers to be given to gardaí this year, allowing them to breathalyse any driver at any time, were to be welcomed.

Under the new measures gardaí will have the power to breathalyse any motorist at random. Currently motorists can only be tested if they have been stopped for a road traffic offence or have been involved in an accident.

Before December 1st last Garda powers were even weaker, with officers only permitted to request a sample after they had "formed an opinion" a motorist was under the influence of alcohol.

Garda spokesman Insp Ray McHugh said the new figures were a cause for concern. "But those who continue to engage in this kind of behaviour run the risk, the very great risk, of being caught. These figures indicate that we've been out there over the Christmas and we've been very active."

He added gardaí would continue to target drink-drivers for the remainder of the year and that motorists should not be of the mindset that it was "okay to drink and drive now that Christmas is over".

He said the marked increase in speeding offences reflected complacency in driver behaviour, which has been more to the fore in recent months.

However, road deaths were lower now than before the introduction of penalty points, with the number of fatalities in December at 21, the lowest in 40 years.

A spokesman for the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said the latest Garda figures showed a hard core of motorists were continuing to drink-drive.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/2351432?view=Eircomnet

Drivers ignored deadly drink and speed warnings
From:The Irish Independent
Thursday, 15th January, 2004
Tom Brady Security Editor

THE fear factor has failed to impact on a hard core of motorists who continue to drink and drive and speed on the nation's roads.

Figures released by the Gardai yesterday show a significant increase in speed detections and more motorists arrested for drink driving.

The latest statistics cover the six-week Christmas campaign when gardai and Government ministers launched a crackdown on road traffic offences.

They confirm an Irish Independent report last month indicating that motorists were ignoring the Christmas clampdown and breaking the law in increasing numbers - findings which were questioned at the time by road safety experts.

A senior garda officer admitted last night: "There is no doubt there is a hard core element who have no regard for the initiatives we are introducing to save lives and end the misery of those affected by road deaths.

"But they can be assured that if they persist their chances of being caught increase substantially each time they offend and they will be caught and pay the penalty," he added.

The new figures show that speeding detections by the gardai between November 23 and January 4 were up by a massive 41pc from 18,339 to 25,914, compared with the corresponding period the previous year, although garda roadblocks had not been increased.

Drink driving arrests increased by 4pc or 57 motorists, from 1,499 people up to 1,556, despite the special focus in the campaign of the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The only good news for the authorities came in the third category which disclosed that more motorists and their passengers were now wearing seat belts.

The statistics revealed that the number detected for not wearing belts was down by 45pc - a drop of 3,017 offenders, from 6,772 to 3,755.

But gardai said the number of offenders was still perplexing and some motorists appeared to pay more attention to ensuring that goods were safely locked up in the boot than guaranteeing the safety of their children in the back seat.

Commenting on the disappointing figures, an officer said the initial impact of the introduction of penalty points seemed to have worn off and complacency had set in.

The campaign, he pointed out, would continue throughout the year.

The penalty points are believed to have been a significant factor in the drop in road deaths to 342 fatalities last year - the lowest in 40 years.

Statistics for the first two weeks of this year show 10 people were killed on the roads, compared with 13 in the corresponding period last year.

The Government's strategy for the next three years will see a huge increase in checks for drink driving from the current rate of less than 13,000 annually to more than 450,000, while speed checks will rise from some 333,000 a year to more than 11m.

On average, each driver can expect to be checked every two months on the roads.

But last night Fine Gael's transport spokesman Denis Naughten warned that the penalty points system was no longer persuading drivers to slow down and he called for a breakdown of the garda figures.

He said the penalty points system would only work if nationwide speed limits were reasonable and logical, which was not the case at the moment.

Meanwhile, the national road safety council called on the gardai to breathalyse more motorists in the wake of the latest figures.