Irish motorists support the use of 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 of 9,400 Irish drivers.
The AA asked Irish motorists whether they supported the idea of the widespread use of speed cameras to promote safer roads. Two thirds of motorists said they did support them (67.7 per cent ), but only a quarter (25.1 per cent ) said they trusted the authorities to put them in the right places, while 63.8 per cent believed that 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. On the other hand, 63.2 per cent said that they personally knew of a location where they would recommend that a speed camera be installed.
“These proposed cameras might well save lives, but as it stands they have a serious credibility gap to bridge,” said 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.”
