DONEGAL is to have the highest number of fixed speed cameras in the country as part of a the biggest drive against death on our roads.
Forty five roads in the county will be monitored as the most dangerous. The list was drawn up by An Garda Síochána and is based on the frequency of accidents.
The list of red zone speed traps where cameras will be placed include: Junction at Ballyboe (Falcarragh), Junction at Meenagcarry (Darney), Letterkenny (Ballykeeran Junction), Inver Village, Creeslough Town Boundary, Dromore Lower at Donegal Town By Pass, Ballyshannon, Ballybofey (Carnamaddy), Bonagee Roundabout, Moneyhaughly Junction, Letterkenny side of Whitecross, Castlefin, Bundoran, Ballynacarrick, Barnesmore Gap, Raphoe, Carrigans, Kildrum, Bridgend, Fahan, Dore, Clonmany, Redcastle and Glentogher,
Speaking to the Donegal News on Tuesday, Inspector Pat O'Donnell, the Garda in charge of Road Safety in Donegal, said the fixed cameras had a huge role to play in reducing accidents and deaths on our roads.
SUCCESS
"They have proved to be very successful in the UK and made a major contribution there to reducing deaths on roads. Obviously, the whole speed issue is a big concern. From next month we will be rolling out the fixed cameras but we will also be setting up extra mobile patrols all over the county. We have the county broken down into zones, depending on the frequency and severity of accidents," he said.
"The red zones represent the most serious areas where fixed and mobile cameras will be in place," he added.
In compiling the list of roads, gardai assigned points of 50, 30 and 20 to fatal, serious and minor collisions respectively. The survey involved each garda district in the country supplying details of all crashes involving fatalities or injury and the location in their area over the past eight years.
The safety blitz will be in two phases. From next month, gardai will target more than 400 'red zones' - the most dangerous stretches of road - with the normal range of cameras. And within the next 12 months, private operators will be monitoring the same lethal stretches with the 600 extra cameras.
A list of 975 road stretches, each 8km long, has been drawn up following a year-long investigation involving the Garda Traffic Corps and the National Roads Authority.
The new privately operated speed camera regime will initially involve mobile cameras but will later include fixed "yellow box" cameras. The Garda Traffic Corps is to get 60 extra officers every three months as part of the new offensive. Chief Supt John Farrelly of the Garda Traffic Corps said speed detection from next month would be based on the list with most enforcement targeted at the red zones.
He insisted the offensive was solely aimed at saving lives and had nothing to do with gathering revenue for the Government.
"We will tell people where they (the cameras) are going to be. The idea is to stop people speeding.
"This is an intelligent policing system, putting resources into red zone areas where people are being killed," he said."
"The idea is to stop people being killed. The cameras will primarily be in red zones where people are being killed because of speed. We want to change the mindset of motorists, to change errant bad behaviour to normal behaviour that will keep them alive," he added.
