Ireland’s new network of speed cameras, operated by a private company called GoSafe, will start operations next month.
Irish motorists support the use of these speed cameras at accident black spots to save lives, but they do not support hiding cameras in hedges in an effort to raise money. These are the findings from a major AA survey which received responses from 9,400 Irish drivers.
Motorists believe speed cameras are good for road safety, but they are also suspicious that the authorities will not put them in the right places. Many motorists believe it is more about making money than saving lives.
The AA asked whether motorists supported the idea of the widespread use of speed cameras to promote safer roads. Two thirds of motorists said they did (67.7 per cent ), but only a quarter (25.1 per cent ) said they trusted the authorities to put them in the right places. Some 63.8 per cent believed they are mostly about raising money.
In more than 1,500 individual comments received by the AA, almost half expressed the view that the cameras would be used by the government to raise money, while 63.2 per cent said they knew of a location where they would recommend a speed camera be installed.
“These proposed cameras might well save lives, but as it stands they have a serious credibility gap to bridge,” says Director of Policy Conor Faughnan. “Irish motorists have been and continue to be very supportive of positive road safety developments, like random breath tests or lowering the drink drive limit. They will support speed cameras as well, but only if they are treated fairly.”
The private company operating the cameras on the Garda’s behalf will not be paid based on fines collected. Whether they catch a thousand speeders or none will make no difference to how much they are paid.
“The better a speed camera does its job the less money it raises.” Says Faughnan. “The perfect speed camera catches no one but causes all traffic to slow down, thereby reducing the number of collisions and ultimately saving the state substantial sums of money.”
The cameras will be located only in places where the collision data over the previous five-year period indicates there have been a high number of speed-related collisions relative to the volume of traffic on the road. If a road does not meet those criteria, then it will not have a camera deployed. This methodology was devised by the AA and the NRA as part of the European Road Assessment Programme.
The locations of the speed enforcement zones will be made public.
Finally, one of the questions the AA asked their motorists was: "Ireland will have a new network of speed cameras operating by mid-November. To what extent had you been aware/not aware of this?”
Some 13.3 per cent said they were very aware; 38.0 per cent were somewhat aware; 2.9 per cent neither; 20.7 per cent were not very aware and 25.1 per cent were not at all aware.
