An Garda Síochána will conduct a national speed enforcement operation "Slow Down”, supported by the Road Safety Authority and other stakeholders, for a 24 hour period from 07.00hrs on Friday 25th May to 07.00hrs on Saturday 26th May 2018.
· 24 - hour road safety speed initiative
· Adjust your speed to all the prevailing road, traffic and weather conditions
· 87 newly appointed Roads Policing members
The objective is to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads. The aim of "Slow Down day” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive or inappropriate speed.
In terms of road safety, 2017 was the lowest on record with 157 road deaths, however it is still 157 road deaths too many. We can never be complacent about road safety. Excessive and inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in road traffic collisions, further confirmed by the recent RSA report on fatal collisions between 2008 and 2012 which found that excessive speed was a contributory factor in one third of all fatal collisions during that time. The higher the speed, the greater the likelihood is of a collision happening and the more severe the outcome of that collision. As a general rule a 1% reduction in average speed will bring about a 4% reduction in fatal collisions, and this is why reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving road safety.
Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy, Roads Policing Bureau said:-
"We appeal to all drivers to slow down and support our National Slow Down day. This will reduce injury and tragedy on the road. Although last year was the safest on record in terms of road safety, there is no room for complacency. Please stick strictly to the posted speed limit, but if the road, traffic or especially weather conditions dictate...reduce your speed even further. This will make the journey safer not only for you, but for every road user sharing the road with you”.
Chief Superintendent Murphy continued: - "We ask drivers to slow down not just on Slow Down day, but every day. We will continue to target irresponsible drivers who speed or put others at risk. This will be greatly enhanced by the 87 newly appointed Roads Policing members, which will increase to 150 by the end of 2018”.
The operation will consist of high visibility speed enforcement in speed enforcement zones, which now number over 1,000, as well as the delivery of a road safety message through the use of national, local and social media.
Government Departments, Local Authorities, Public and private sector fleet operators have been invited to participate in the initiative by circulating employees with the key message to "Slow Down” and, whether driving for business or private purposes, to always drive within the speed limit and at a speed appropriate to the prevailing conditions.
An Garda Síochána strongly promote this campaign on Social Media and encourage members of the public to support the campaign on social media and also by slowing down. Previous campaigns advised people to slow down. We encourage members of the public to tweet us pictures with thumbs up for slow down day, when they have stopped driving of course. Please send images with thumbs up with the hashtags #Slowdownday #Slowdown
Notes to editor:
· As of 23rd May 2018, there have been 58 road fatalities, a reduction of one on this date last year.
· From 1st January – 31st March there have been 24,216 speeding detections.
· From last year’s campaign, (27/28 May 2017), GoSafe checked the speed of 176,521 vehicles with 322 detected travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit.
Recent Garda social media posts of speeding detections: -
LOCATION
SPEED
M9 Carlow
176km/h in a 120 km/h zone
N17 Clare
152 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
Ramelton, Cork
125 km/h in a 80 km/h zone
Boher, Limerick
142 km/h in a 60 km/h zone
N61, Roscommon
143 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
M8, Cashel
167 km/h in a 120 km/h zone
N2, Monaghan
142 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
N25, Waterford
182 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
Letterkenny, Donegal
164 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
2018 highest speed per speed band from Gosafe safety cameras:
LOCATION
SPEED
R689 Gortnahoo, Thurles, Tipperary
139km/h in a 50 km/h zone
R563 Faha East, Faha, Herry
131 km/h in a 60 km/h zone
R397 Knockagowny, Longford
198 km/h in a 80 km/h zone
N3 Daggan, Cavan
201 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
M7, Oberstown, Naas, Kildare
177 km/h in a 120 km/h zone
All speed enforcement zone locations are available on the Garda website. The penalty for speeding is 3 penalty points and an €80 euro fine if paid within 28 days.
Safety Cameras
Since Monday, the 15th November 2010, new Garda mobile safety cameras are in use across Irish roads.
Excessive or inappropriate speeding is a major factor in road traffic collisions. Safety cameras will be on the roads all across Ireland where fatal or injury collisions are happening as a result of inappropriate speed.
GoSafe provide a minimum of 7,400 enforcement hours and a maximum of 100 survey hours per month across the country. For the 7,400 enforcement hours, the cameras will operate from vans which are marked with high visibility reflective material and display a safety camera symbol. Images of the vans are available on the Garda website.
The survey hours will be conducted from unmarked vans, in order to accurately observe and record the speeds at which vehicles are currently travelling, for survey purposes only.
Gardaí use a range of speed detection technology to reduce speed across Irish roads. A reduction in speed will lead to a reduction in the incidence of fatal and serious injuries and will improve road safety for all road-users.
We are working closely with a range of partner agencies, including Government Departments, the Road Safety Authority, the National Roads Authority, and the community, in order to develop a national culture of safe road use.
There are over 1,000 sections of road identified as speed enforcement zones effective from the 27th May 2016.
Ongoing surveys will be conducted to ensure that these sections of roads continue to represent locations where speeding is happening.
These sections of the road network will be where An Garda Síochána will be primarily focussing our enforcement. We will use a range of equipment such as:
• Handheld and tripod mounted laser guns;
• Vehicle mounted Puma speed detection equipment, (both marked and unmarked vehicles);
• Van mounted Go-Safe safety cameras (civilian operated).
Ref: 529/18
