A nationwide network of so-called ‘Red Light Cameras’ is finally being switched on, a full decade after the initial successful trial in Dublin.
The first batch of these traffic light cameras are slated to be installed at the capital’s busiest junctions and along bus lanes within the first half of 2025. The cameras in Galway, Limerick and Cork will roll out before the year’s end.
These cameras will nab drivers who flout red lights, block yellow boxes or illegally use bus lanes. They’ll utilise Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems to identify offenders and automatically issue fines.
The cameras are viewed as a cost-effective, highly efficient method to monitor busy traffic junctions round-the-clock, seven days a week, thereby easing the burden on already stretched Gardai.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has been given the responsibility of devising a strategy for the introduction of both red light and bus lane cameras. The first cameras were supposed to be installed in 2024 but delays have pushed the rollout to the first quarter of 2025.
Earlier this year, outgoing Green leader and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan expressed his desire for the first cameras to be operational in cities nationwide in 2025, a timeline that now seems achievable.
When unveiling the scheme earlier this year, the Leader of the Green Party underscored its importance by stating it was primarily “First and foremost for the everyday management of bus lanes, of parking, and of traffic light adherence,” highlighting the critical safety concerns. “When we do surveys we find a large number of people are breaking lights and that is a huge safety concern.”
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Back in 2015, Dublin trialled the initiative with cameras at Blackhall Place on the crossroad with the Red Luas line, catching 813 unlucky drivers within just half a year. Studies have shown those watchful eyes cut collisions at the notorious accident hotspot in half after six months.
This tech isn’t new on the global stage – it’s been keeping roads safer for yonks in countries like Australia, Canada, the UK, and in the United States of America, steering driver behaviour onto the straight and narrow.
In Ireland, jumping the gun on a red light slaps you with three penalty points and parts you from €80 of your hard-earned cash, escalating to €120 if you dilly-dally over 28 days without coughing up. During that 2015 trial run in Dublin, none of the motorists caught by the eagle-eyed cameras managed to dodge their date with justice in court.
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