Westmeath's eight new speed camera zones kick in from tomorrow

Eilís Ryan

Published: Wed 31 Dec 2025, 10:45 AM

Motorists are facing a greater threat of being penalised for speeding from this Thursday, January 1, with the introduction of eight new safety camera zones in Westmeath, to take the total in the county to 31.

In addition, a further seven locations are to be considered on foot of community requests.

The total distance of road covered by the two sets of measures amounts to 31.45km – 16.27km in the new camera zones and 15.08km in the community request zones.

Nationally, 390 new safety camera zones are coming into effect from Thursday, to take the total number nationwide to 1,901, along with a total of 55 community request camera zones.

Community request zones are locations, which have been highlighted by Garda Divisions arising from concerns held by the community or observations of local gardaí in relation to speeding activity on certain roads.

Road safety campaigner Donna Price of the Irish Road Victims Association has cautiously welcomed the expansion of mobile speed camera zones announced by An Garda Síochána, but warns that the measures do not go far enough to tackle speeding and rising road deaths. She also questioned the effectiveness of mobile speed camera vans as a deterrent.

“People see the vans, slow down where they are parked, and then speed up again afterwards,” she said. “Anybody who uses the roads knows that speed is a huge factor in serious collisions, yet only a very small number of drivers are actually caught.”

Ms Price said figures regularly released by gardaí show that out of tens of thousands of vehicles monitored in a weekend, only a few hundred drivers are detected speeding. “That tells us the current system is not working as it should,” she said.

She called for increased garda presence on Westmeath roads, arguing that visible policing would have a greater impact than what she described as the outsourcing of speed enforcement to private operators.

The association is also seeking the introduction of average speed cameras and red light cameras, including in towns. Ms Price said running red lights had become increasingly common, putting pedestrians and other road users at serious risk.

She also criticised the current penalty system, which applies the same sanction whether a driver is marginally over the limit or travelling at extreme speed. “We need graduated penalties that reflect the danger posed,” she said. “There must be a real deterrent.”

Ms Price highlighted that many of those killed on the roads are not drivers. “Most victims are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, children and older people. Speed determines whether someone lives or dies.”

An Garda Síochána said the expanded camera network targets locations with a history of speed-related collisions and areas raised as concerns by local communities.

Assistant Commissioner Catharina Gunne said the aim was to protect responsible road users from a minority of reckless drivers.

Camera safety zones

R148/Old N4, 1.36km, Coralstown to Kinnegad

R391 Dysart, 1.61km - from west of Murphy’s pub towards Ballinea

R392 4.94km from the ruins of Kenny Church and Graveyard at Brotenstown to just before Greenpark Meadows

R394 1.45km of the C-Link from Grange Bridge to the Ashe Road roundabout

R394 2.28km from Robinstown Cottages to beyond Mullingar RFC

N4 a 1.52km stretch from west of Tormey’s Bar Bunbrosna

N4 a 1.88km stretch heading went from the eastern side of Ballinalack

N4 a 1.33km stretch heading west towards Rathowen

Community Request

R394 2.98km from Finea, southwards to Derrycrave