A significant number of tragic deaths of pedestrians struck by drivers this year highlights the urgent need for greater enforcement of the road traffic laws. With Garda resources for on-street policing limited, camera-based enforcement could play a significant role.
Average speed cameras, which are being rolled out on the motorway network, have already proved effective in reducing speeds, according to the Garda. These cameras use automatic number plate recognition technology to record the time of vehicles passing through entry and exit points, with drivers receiving fines and penalty points if they travel from A to B too quickly.
Similar technology will be used in new red light cameras which Dublin City Council plans to introduce in 2025. Under this system a camera is triggered when a vehicle enters the intersection after the light has turned red, a picture of the registration of the offending motorist is captured and fines can be issued.
As the camera records the registration at the front of the car only when the light has turned red, there is no risk a driver who goes through on an orange light will be unfairly targeted.
The system requires no new legislation and has already been tested. In 2015, cameras were put on traffic lights at the junction of Blackhall Place and the Luas Red Line in Dublin’s north inner city. The trial was demonstrably successful with the number of drivers breaking the light falling by half in the second three months of the trial, and no successful court appeals against fines.
It is hard to imagine reasonable arguments against using this system. The argument against its full implementation a decade ago largely related to the resources required to operate the system. Since then, technology has improved and the systems have become more automated. Where resources still might come under pressure is in the courts system, if drivers don’t pay, or appeal their fines. Given these cameras could help save lives, particularly of the most vulnerable road users, it is a cost worth absorbing.
