Garda cameras to target 300km of Westmeath roads

Among the areas identified in Westmeath for targeting are 31 kms of the N52 from Clonmellon to Mullingar; 46 kms of the N6 - from Kinnegad to Kilbeggan, and from Moate to Athlone; 19 kms of the N4/M4 between Mullingar and Kinnegad; and a number of other stretches of rural and other roads around the county (see page 4 for full list).Afurther 56 kms of the N4 (the non-toll road) in County Meath area also to be targeted - from Kinnegad to Clonard, Clonard to Moyvalley, and Moyvalley to Kilcock.On Thursday, a contract with the Go Safe Consortium for the provision of what is believed to be 45 mobile traffic cameras was signed at the Garda College in Templemore. The cameras are to be based at fifteen depots around the country, and the system will be rolled out by the middle of next year at the latest. Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy said that the objective of the safety camera project is to reduce the number of speed related collisions by increasing compliance with speed limits across the entire road network; by reducing the speed of vehicles at locations that have a speed related collision history, and by acting as a deterrent to driving at excessive speeds. Figures from the CSO show that there were 14 road fatalities in Westmath in 2007, and 240 people injured. Commissioner Murphy, at the signing ceremony, also said that the project will enable the Garda anti-speed campaign to have "even greater impact".He said that there will be more speed checks at weekends than on weekdays (Sundays 19-25 per cent, Saturdays, 16-20 per cent, and Fridays, 14-18 per cent); more speed checks between midnight and 3 a.m. than at other times. Fewer than 3 per cent of speed checks will be on motorways and dual carriageways: the intention is to have 50 per cent of speed checks on national roads, and 50 on non-national roads, and 15-20 per cent of the checks are to be on heavy goods vehicles. "We want to change driver behaviour, and our objective, therefore, is not to catch people speeding: it is to stop people speeding and to stop the needless loss of life on our roads," he said.The Gardaí currently have the use of eight mobile cameras in vans, 400 hand-held speeding device, and more than 100 automatic number plate readers.