A pilot speed-camera project in eight regions of the UK has had a significant effect on driver behaviour and accident rates.
Dr Michael Maguire of PA Consulting worked to bring together the relevant authorities to put self-financing speed-camera projects in place - the fines are ploughed back into road safety.
The group looked at accident statistics over a three-year period in order to come up with a league table of black spots. Consultants then measured the speed of vehicles at each location. "We found, not surprisingly, that there is a direct relationship between speed and accident statistics," says Maguire.
Following the success of the pilot project, the scheme was made national earlier this year.
The statistics from the pilot study speak for themselves. A one-mile-per-hour reduction in vehicle speed leads to a 5 per cent reduction in collisions, the consultants found. On average, the number of drivers speeding at camera sites, whether the units were mobile or fixed, fell from 55 per cent to 16 per cent.
"Those exceeding the limit by more than 15 miles per hour were reduced from an average of 5 per cent to 1 per cent after the introduction of the cameras. The cameras were all highly visible and they got a lot of publicity locally - there was nothing hidden about this."
The eight pilot sites now have 35 per cent fewer collisions than previously, a total of 379 fewer crashes as a result of enforcement over the past six months. Maguire says 47 per cent fewer people were injured or killed at the camera sites.
The Garda has a number of speed cameras in place on the N2, N3, N4 and M50, but not all of them are active. There are only three or four functioning cameras, which are rotated regularly.
A study of the potential effects of installing more speed cameras has just been completed by another consultancy and presented to the National Safety Council.
Described as a superb piece of work by Eddie Shaw, the council's chairman, it has yet to be presented to the high-level working group responsible for implementing road-safety strategy.
