[Article] Advisory group calls for mobile speed cameras

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/5269638?view=Eircomnet

Advisory group calls for mobile speed cameras
From:ireland.com
Saturday, 26th March, 2005

A Government advisory group has recommended that several hundred accident blackspots around the country be targeted by a privatised mobile speed camera system.

In a recently completed report, which is to go to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and Minister for Transport Martin Cullen in the next few weeks, the group has also advised that the system should be operated in its entirety by a private company, from the operation of the cameras through to the processing of fines and issuing of penalty points.

However, the Garda should retain control of what roads and areas the new speed cameras should target, and that the cameras should target collision-prone locations, as opposed to major dual carriageways and motorway routes where accident rates have been low.

The report, compiled by a working group of civil servants from the Departments of Justice and Transport, the National Roads Authority and the Garda, also stipulates that the system should not be self-financing.

It is seen as an essential measure to comply with the official Government target of carrying out 11.1 million speed checks a year, roughly five times the current rate.

Instead any money raised from fines should go directly to the Exchequer, and the speed camera system should be financed directly from the Government.

More than 200 such accident blackspots have already been identified by the Garda, in conjunction with the National Roads Authority as part of the plans for the system.

Further audits of the locations would be carried out by gardaí before any private cameras would be deployed.

It is envisaged that the Garda Traffic Corps, established earlier this year, would maintain high-visibility anti-speeding operations on main routes, along with operations aimed at dangerous driving and other infringements.

The report also recommends that the cameras should be mobile as opposed to being in fixed locations to increase the number of roads that can be covered, along with improving the effectiveness of the system.

It is envisaged that the cameras would be mounted in small vans operating in a covert manner, similar to unmarked Garda speed detection cars.

They would also be placed in vans for high-visibility operations.

However, operators of the cameras would have no powers to stop speeding vehicles.

Fines would be issued by post instead, similar to the limited, fixed camera system that is currently in operation.

The Minister for Justice, who has received an outline of the report, is expected to bring the proposals to Cabinet before the summer holidays.

Legislation will still be needed to implement the regulations, which would be expected later this year if the Government agrees to the plans.

Both the Minister for Transport, who would be responsible for introducing the legislation, and Mr McDowell have already signalled their preference for the privatisation of the cameras.

This was recommended in the Government's Road Safety Strategy, which aims to reduce the number of road deaths in Ireland.

The report envisages that 11.1 million speed checks would take place every year in the State, or that a driver would expect to go through a speed check every two months at least.

The number of cars that pass through speed checks at present is estimated to be less than three million a year. At present the Garda operates three fixed speed cameras rotated around 20 locations, eight unmarked vans and cars and 368 speed guns.

Meanwhile gardaí have mounted one of the most extensive anti-speeding and drink-driving campaigns of the year, which will continue to early Tuesday morning.

The campaign, headed by the newly appointed Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Garda Traffic Corps, Eddie Rock, includes speed checks on all main routes and involves more than 600 officers.

Five people were killed on the roads during the same period last year.

DubTony

This was making a lot of sense until ...

It is envisaged that the cameras would be mounted in small vans operating in a covert manner, similar to unmarked Garda speed detection cars.

What a shame that even civil servants feel that the best way to prevent speeding is to "hide behind bus shelters". I'll stand by what I've said before and firmly believe.

The best way to stop speeding on the roads is to operate lots of high visibility speed checks.

Tony

boa-constrictor

DubTony wrote:

The best way to stop speeding on the roads is to operate lots of high visibility speed checks.

Afraid not. There is nothing to back this up. What is working absolute wonders in the UK is a scheme whereby speeders are offered a fine or to go on a course where they meet the victims of speeders. Practically everyone who goes on it says it dramatically changes their attitude behind the wheel. The Home office have a constructive attitude to curing the speeding problem. The Irish Govt dont want to solve the problem for two reasons;

1) the roads are so bad in this country that even if you fitted a speed governor to every car in the country tomorrow, there would still be hundreds of deaths every year and then we would know it was the fault of the roads and they would have to spend billions (which they dont have because they wasted all the EC money) fixing them.

2) fining speeders is a money spinner.

DubTony

boa-constrictor wrote:

Afraid not. There is nothing to back this up.

Who needs evidence? People see speed checks, they slow down. They see them often enough; they stay slowed down. Consider Massachusetts in the USA. It has the second lowest rate of road fatalities in the States. Cops sit at dangerous sections of road, at junctions, near schools and all in full visibility. You speed - you get done. After all, isn't it all supposed to be about preventing road deaths.

What is working absolute wonders in the UK is a scheme whereby speeders are offered a fine or to go on a course where they meet the victims of speeders. Practically everyone who goes on it says it dramatically changes their attitude behind the wheel. The Home office have a constructive attitude to curing the speeding problem.

I agree wholeheartedly. This is a great idea but unfortunately the chances of seeing anything like it here are minimal. We can't even get the driving test waiting list times down to a reasonable time.

The Irish Govt dont want to solve the problem for two reasons;

1) the roads are so bad in this country that even if you fitted a speed governor to every car in the country tomorrow, there would still be hundreds of deaths every year and then we would know it was the fault of the roads and they would have to spend billions (which they dont have because they wasted all the EC money) fixing them.

2) fining speeders is a money spinner.

Again, I agree.
Now, I think Victor might have something to say about point 2

Tony

antoinolachtnai

I think that there is going to be a legal problem with concealed speed cameras, where they are used to prosecute small breaches (10 km/hour or so over the limit, maybe a bit more). I think they are eventually going to end up in trouble in court, especially if the agency operating them is getting a cut of the revenue. There are also problems around the system of compelling car owners to name drivers. The fact that you don't get notified for some weeks about the alleged offence is also a big problem, because you effectively don't get the opportunity to prepare a defence.

The obvious thing to do would be to incentivize the various agencies on the basis of average travel speeds over distances of 20 miles or so on patrolled roads, not on the basis of the number of people fined.

MrPudding

There was an interesting discussion about this on Newstalk106 a couple of weeks ago. There was a guy on from the NSC and some other bloke, not sure who I missed the start of the slot. I really liked what the NSC guy said, I think it made a lot of sense and if it actually is carried out I think it will be a good thing. Here is what I remember:

The speed check would be carried out by a private company. The company would be paid by the number of check carried out, NOT by the number of detections of speeding. There would be no bonus and no connection between the number of speeders caught and the amount paid. The Guardai would decide where & when the checks would be carried out. He further explained this by saying that checks would happen right through the night and at accident black spots. Checks would be carried out on Motorways and dual carriageway but they would be trying to have the check carried out in a way that relate to the number of deaths on each type of road. So whilst MWays & DCWs would be checked that vast majority of checks would be carried out on smaller more dangerous roads.

So, in short, the private companies would have to carry out checks when and where they were told. If they were told to spend 1 hour on the N11 but ended up spending 3 hours there they would not get paid for the checks done in the 2 additional hours.

I think this would be an OK system. Private company getting paid for a set amount of checks not detections and on the basis that the check are carried out at locations and times that have been identified as dangerous.

MrP