New static speed safety cameras for N5 in Mayo
INFRASTRUCTURE and technology for two average safety camera systems have been installed on the N5 Swinford bypass.
Commissioning, testing and validation of the cameras, installed between Lislackagh and Cuilmore, Swinford, has commenced and will continue for a number of weeks, An Garda Síochána has confirmed.
The average safety camera sites have been chosen because they meet the criteria as being high collision sites with numerous road traffic collisions, involving injury, serious injury and fatalities.
Average safety cameras are intended to change driver behaviour, reducing average speed of road users and the number of collisions that occur, making roads safer for all road users and decreasing the impact of speed on local communities.
The purchase of infrastructure and operation of this initial phase of safety cameras is a funded initiative by An Garda Síochána.
The completion of this initial phase was only possible with the assistance and cooperation of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), local authorities, LGMA, ESB and all contractors involved, including groundworks and installation funding.
As the roll-out of this phase of safety cameras, which includes other locations in the country, continues, An Garda Síochána will provide further information as and when new locations move into the testing phase.
They will also provide advance notification prior to any safety camera site commencing an enforcement phase.
So what is an average safety camera?
Average safety cameras work by monitoring a vehicle's speed over a certain distance, rather than at a single point.
Unlike static safety camera detection which measures the motorists speed at one particular point along the road, average safety cameras monitor a driver’s average speed while driving between two points.
The cameras use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to record the time, date and location of each vehicle that passes through an entry and exit point.
Drivers detected exceeding the speed limit - i.e. travelling from point A to point B too quickly, are issued with a Fixed Charge Notice which, when processed, assigns three penalty points to the driver's licence and a fine of up to €160.
The objective of the cameras is to prevent death and serious injury on Irish roads. Speed is a factor in the severity of outcome of many collisions, and is a cause in 30% of fatal collisions.