Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 November 2004
140 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has proposals for reviewing road safety measures, particularly in view of the admission that speed checks were being implemented in low risk areas rather than in more accident prone stretches of road. [27212/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraRoad traffic legislation, including road safety legislation, is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport. The Garda Síochána is responsible for the enforcement of that legislation.
The Garda national traffic bureau, headed by a chief superintendent and based at Garda headquarters, was established in 1998 to give greater focus and direction to Garda road safety initiatives. There are now traffic units in every Garda division with special responsibility for traffic law enforcement and a new unit, managed by the chief superintendent in Dublin Castle, is currently operating on a pilot basis in the Dublin metropolitan region. All Garda personnel have, inter alia, a responsibility to deal with road traffic matters as they arise.
I recently announced Government approval for an extra 2,000 gardaí and I have asked the Garda Commissioner to examine the question of resource allocation. Among the issues being examined by the Garda Commissioner is the number of gardaí deployed in traffic units. In addition, the Commissioner is considering structural changes in the area of Garda activity with the aim of increasing the effective use of personnel and equipment resources available. I will be announcing changes in this area in the near future.
I understand from the Garda authorities that collision-prone locations are identified on an ongoing basis, with the assistance of the National Roads Authority and local authorities. This data serves as input into the enforcement activities of the Garda Síochána. Gardaí have a high visibility on motorways because high ramp areas for their use have been engineered. In fact, figures show that only 2% of speeding detections are in those areas. I am informed by the Garda authorities that 1% of fatal accidents occur on motorways.
