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Monday, November 15, 2010

DRIVING TIPS

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Five things you need to know about Ireland's new speed cameras

today at 11:32 am

The new mobile speed camera system has been rolled out across the country today. Here's five things you need to know about them.

Where they are

The 1,000-plus speed cameras are located all over the country so chances are, there will be at least one on your daily commute. The garda.ie website, which was supposed to inform as to the location of the cameras, has crashed due to too many visitors. However, you can view a detailed map of both the static and mobile speed cameras by clickinghere.

Your GPS can help

Remembering where all the hot spots are is a big ask, but your sat nav could help you out in this regard. You can download an update for your GPS which will remind you when you’re coming up to a location where a speed camera might be in operation.

The update, which is compatible with Garmin Nuvi & Zumo devices, costs €29 and can be downloaded by clicking here.

The figures

There are now 45 mobile cameras in operation which will provide 6,000 hours of speed checks across 600 locations in Ireland. They will be added to the existing garda speed checks which include eight mobile cameras in vans, 400 handheld cameras and more than 100 automatic number plate recognition cameras in Garda cars.

Do they work

Based on the experience in other countries, safety cameras have saved lives and reduced speed across the road network. In Northern Ireland, during the first three years of their introduction of safety cameras, there was a 41per cent reduction in fatal and serious injury collisions.

In France, there was a 30 per cent reduction in fatalities between 2002 – 2005 and 75 per cent of this reduction was attributed to safety cameras. In Spain, there was a mean speed reduction between 3-4km, depending on the type of road measured.

The penalties

Speeding fines start from an €80 euro fine plus two penalty points. If caught, you will receive notice of your fine and penalty points of the offence by post. You have 28 days in which to pay your fine from the date the notice issues to you to pay your fine. If left unpaid, the fine then increases to €120 euro which is payable within 28 days. If after this time (56 days) you still have not paid your fine, you will be looking at an appearance at your District court. If you convicted of speeding offences and non-payment of fines, you will automatically receive four penalty points and a fine up to a maximum of €800

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