Network of privately run Speed Safety Cameras Nov 2010: Locations & Effectiveness

mugga said:
And then you'll have those who'll be afraid of their lives of going over the sometimes ridiculously slow speed limits in these areas that they'll crawl along at a snails pace. Far more annoying and dangerous than anything.
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Can you please clarify as to how driving within the speed limit (or in your words, at a snails pace) is dangerous?
 
mugga said:
just another money making exercise, the nanny state strikes again. I'm sure when people are given two penalty points for speeding / dangerous fast driving on the road when doing maybe 45 in a 40 they'll be none too pleased. And then you'll have those who'll be afraid of their lives of going over the sometimes ridiculously slow speed limits in these areas that they'll crawl along at a snails pace. Far more annoying and dangerous than anything. We are already paying too much for the use of the roads between the picky, over fussy NCT and taxes. We don't need this!!!!!!!
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Ah yes mugga, you'd be one of those drivers who knows better than anyone else what is a safe speed to drive at then yeah? I knew someone would make a post using the cliche nanny state in it. :rolleyes:
 
Speed cameras are not a... I repeat... NOT a "money making exercise".

In the UK over the financial period 2008/2009 speed cameras generated about £67m.

[broken link removed]

This is a trifling amount within the wider context.
 
It's nonetheless a licence to print money. My understanding is that they are getting paid by the camera/hour, so the company can't lose. Detection rates are immaterial, as are the deterrent factor and the impact on road safety.

Interesting thread over on [broken link removed] about the GoSafe Consortium who were awarded this contract. They're led by a multi-millionaire Fianna Fáil supporter who once gave a £50,000 digout to CJH, according to the Moriarty Tribunal report:
In 1992, Celtic Helicopters was in a perilous financial condition and it became necessary to refund the company. A number of individuals were approached and provided substantial funding. They were Mr. Xavier McAuliffe, Mr. John Byrne, Mr. Patrick Butler, Mr. Mike Murphy and Mr. Guy Snowdon. Mr. Haughey indicated that by this time he was taking a more active interest in Celtic Helicopters but informed the Tribunal in the course of his examination that he knew nothing about Mr. McAuliffe's £50,000 contribution; that he had no recollection of Mr. John Byrne's involvement; that he was aware Mr. Butler had made an investment but he wasn't aware of the amount; that he knew nothing about the investment made by Mr. Mike Murphy... [etc.] Mr. McAuliffe's investment was routed through offshore banks and ultimately transmitted to an Ansbacher account in Dublin in the Irish Intercontinental Bank.
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I wouldn't call it a 'Nanny State' exercise. 'Banana republic' are the words that come to mind.
 
It sounds like GoSafe have a contract to do a certain amount of hours a month - and they get €65 million over 5 years . http://www.*****************.com/speed-cameras.html



It's also sad that the crowd operating the cameras here decided to use the name GoSafe - which is the same name used by the partnership in Wales doing their mobile speed cameras!
 
Bizzare Traffic Camera Location in Tralee: Princes St- Rock St - Monavalley.

How will the locations be decided? Who is responsible for deciding the locations?
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An Garda Síochána has completed an extensive analysis of the collision history on the road network.
Sections of road have been identified where a significant proportion of collisions occurred where speed was a contributory factor.
The Garda National Traffic Bureau (GNTB) will decide on the locations where the speed cameras will operate.
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The location for the new traffic cameras in Tralee is truly bizzare. The route winds its way through the medieval little streets of Tralee encountering numerous traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, junctions, schools, churches and entrances exits to supermarkets and car parks.


Not alone is it nearly impossible to speed along these streets but it is difficult to imagine where a camera van can even safely park up.

Check the route out on G streetview:
http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ie...oid=1ajZfNIqAjy98XDLdrTHjA&cbp=12,350.28,,0,5

http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ie...52.269681,-9.708481&spn=0.006316,0.01929&z=16

http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ie...52.269993,-9.708383&spn=0.006316,0.01929&z=16

If there have been any collisions on this stretch they are of the urban fender bender type where speed is not a factor.


I find it hard to imagine that the Garda National Traffic Bureau (GNTB) has conducted an extensive analysis of the collision history at this location.


I can only speculate that the choice is either A) a control for comparison B) a mistake or C) situated near a Garda Station for convenience.

Perhaps the cameras can be placed in the prosaically named Island of Geese!

http://maps.google.ie/maps?f=d&sour...2.273094,-9.706335&spn=0.023739,0.077162&z=14


BiN
 
In the 30kph areas i find myself referring to the speedo much much more. It's such a slow speed that i find it extremely hard to just look at the road and drive. Normally i would stick it a few kph under the limit and any variations due to undulations in the road wouldnt amount to much. But if i do that in a 30 zone i will hardly be moving at all!
Plus i get overtaken on double solid lines (northbound into slane, before the bridge) in these areas by drivers who obviously dont care about getting points on their licences. I can't stand driving at 30kph but i have to.
 
Having a look at the map on the Garda website, I am pleased to see that motorways are not included.

I checked around my local area and wider afield where I would often drive to and I could not find fault with any of the locations; I was a bit surprised that one wide stretch of road was included as it appeared quite safe but apparently there had been a number of deaths there over the years so fair enough.........
 
For anyone familiar with Ballincollig, Co. Cork, I think it is a joke that the red line extends all the way through the town. I would love to be corrected, but can someone tell me of any serious accidents in the centre of Ballincollig due to speeding in the last 5 years?
 
An ostensibly good idea if the cameras were sited appropriatley but as many posters have shown the cameras are sited in areas with no real history of fatal accidents.

The extremely unprofessional behaviour of the Garda management in allowing these cameras to be sited in areas that will simply be used for revenue collection is a disgrace

The cameras need to be sited in genuine "accident blackspots" (not that there should be any "accident blackspots" as they should be engineered out of the road system) They should be as visually bright as possible and with large visual signage on the road near where they are located, not to be hidden from view but to highlight their location to show the dangerous blackspots to prevent accidents.

Otherwise the system will be held in contempt and what could have been used to hopefully reduce fatal accidents will just be another cynical system of stealth tax with no discernible affect on road safety
 
werner said:
An ostensibly good idea if the cameras were sited appropriatley but as many posters have shown the cameras are sited in areas with no real history of fatal accidents.

The extremely unprofessional behaviour of the Garda management in allowing these cameras to be sited in areas that will simply be used for revenue collection is a disgrace

The cameras need to be sited in genuine "accident blackspots" (not that there should be any "accident blackspots" as they should be engineered out of the road system) They should be as visually bright as possible and with large visual signage on the road near where they are located, not to be hidden from view but to highlight their location to show the dangerous blackspots to prevent accidents.
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1. How do you know the areas have no real history of fatal accidents ? What are you basing this on ? The posts of a few AAM contributors who never heard of accidents in these area -(which you take to mean they never occurred...)

2. Why would the Garda management want to collect revenue for the Govt?? I would imagine they are more concerned with reducing crashes/injuries/deaths.

3. The locations are already publicised.
 
gianni said:
1. How do you know the areas have no real history of fatal accidents ? What are you basing this on ? The posts of a few AAM contributors who never heard of accidents in these area -(which you take to mean they never occurred...)

HSE stats and my profession, many of the camera sites have had no fatal car accidents

2. Why would the Garda management want to collect revenue for the Govt?? I would imagine they are more concerned with reducing crashes/injuries/deaths.

If they are I would suggest that they concentrate on policing the roads not revenue raising exercises By the way between 2002 and 2005.. 1 in 3 fatal accidents were alcohol related. Revenue raising cameras will not stop what professional traffic policing should stop

3. The locations are already publicised.
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They are not correctly highlighted, only a long stretch of road is being published not the location of the Camera vans. If a spot on a road is so lethal apart from the need to have it "engineered" out of the road, the public should be made aware of it by locating a highly visible Camera van at the location to reduce fatalites
 
werner said:
The extremely unprofessional behaviour of the Garda management in allowing these cameras to be sited in areas that will simply be used for revenue collection is a disgrace
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Speed cameras are not for revenue generation. Previous figures demonstrate this.

I'm fed up of these ill-informed heuristic assumptions on the purpose of speed cameras.
 
I don't doubt for a second that there are places on our roads with high accident rates - my question is why are we only being told of these now? Why haven't "accident black spot" signs been erected in these places long before now in order to warn drivers appropriately?
 
I've only seen one of these vans so far, on the Dundalk to Ardee road. The limit is 100 km/h but the van was in a spot where if you tried going anywhere near 100, you'd crash off the road at the first bend.
 
I don't think this a purely money-making exercise. By introducing so many locations at one time, people are going are going to have a hard time remembering which areas are covered and which are not, which will result in slower speads in more areas. Even if people obey the limits in the covered areas (where lives have been lost) only, lives will be saved. IMO people will also slow down in non-covered areas as they will get used to driving at, or below, the spead limits. I think this is a superb initiative and a proper example of public/private partnership.
 
werner said:
They are not correctly highlighted, only a long stretch of road is being published not the location of the Camera vans. If a spot on a road is so lethal apart from the need to have it "engineered" out of the road, the public should be made aware of it by locating a highly visible Camera van at the location to reduce fatalites
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They ARE highly visable vans....

[broken link removed]

http://www.towns-ireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/gosafe.jpg

They are also mobile and are permitted to work within the area that is mentioned on the Garda website, these areas were selected due to the high level of crashes that have occured at them. Targeting the blackspot is as important as targeting the stretch of road leading to it.
 
+1 to Firefly. I think this is a good initiative, one that is needed and one that from what I can see is not a money making exercise. Everybody can be very clear on where the speed cameras may be and I think will slow down as a result. This is the aim - safer driving.
 
I wonder while they're at it can they dish out penalty points for those caught by the cameras driving while using their phones. Enforcement of that prohibition is a joke.
 
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