From midnight last Monday, motorists across Waterford will be under observation at over thirty locations across the city and county.
The new Garda speed camera vans were deployed this week to patrol roads recognised as accident blackspots throughout the country. Waterford has the sixth highest number of designated locations.
Areas of the city which will be under scrutiny include the Cork Road, Cleaboy Road and the Dunmore Road.
In the county, the Butlerstown-Tramore road, Killure and Bellelake areas, the old N25 through Kilmeaden and the N25 around Leamybrien, are all pinpointed.
Ferybank, Dunkitt, Slieverue and both sides of the N24 at Carrick-on-Suir will also be under observation.
Gardaí say the vans will patrol areas where fatal collisions are happening as a result of inappropriate speed. They say the locations may change over time.
GoSafe has been contracted to operate the cameras on behalf of An Garda Síochánca.
Commenting on the implementation of the speed checks, Assistant Garda Commissioner for Traffic John Twomey said motorists should be aware of where the checks will be operating.
“An Garda Síochána appeals to all road users, in particular motorists, to familiarise themselves with these sections of the road network,” he said.
“We also appeal to motorists to always drive at an appropriate speed, to reduce the likelihood of being involved in a fatal or serious collision.”
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However, Irishspeedtraps.com, who campaign to have speed cameras located only at high accident locations, has called on the Road Safety Authority, the Gardaí and GoSafe to release figures demonstrating the effectiveness of the new mobile speed cameras.
“With the roll-out of the new mobile speed cameras this week, we would like to see statistics released to the public which prove these cameras are having a positive impact on road safety,” said Ciarán Kennedy of Irishspeedtraps.com.
“Motorists simply do not trust this venture between the Gardaí and a private company, and are skeptical that the speed checks will be operated in a fair and transparent manner. This is due to the situation where many of the current Garda speed checks are placed on motorways and dual-carriageways which are the safest roads in the country,” he said.
The Road Safety Authority has welcomed the introduction, and pointed out that GoSafe will be paid on the basis of the number of hours of enforcement rather than the number of detections.
Donegal has the highest number of checkpoints at 63, followed by Cork, Meath, Wexford and Tipperary.
In total, 760 blackspots across the country will be patrolled.
Fifteen vans were expected to have been deployed yesterday, with that number due to increase to 45 by early next year.
The vans will be clearly marked with speed check signs and will patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all weather conditions.