New Speed Camera Going up

Wazdakka

Hey all,

Guess all that Garda activity over the last few weeks around the roadworks on the southside of the M50 was for a reason.

Noticed a new speed camera stalk and trap lines on the road between the Tallaght and Cookstown Exits Northbound this morning.

Just a heads up....

Wonder if they are going to bring it online with the 60KPh limit or wait till the roadworks are done?

Mitch Connor

they'd be waiting a long time for the road works to be done.

antodeco

Fish in a barrell. What annoys me is that there were 8 deaths over the bank holiday weekend, none in Dublin. I wonder what the actual percentage of deaths by county to number of speed cameras in the county is?

Its ridiculous putting up speed camera's on roads where nearly zero fatalities occur. Rant over!

fletch

Wazdakka wrote:

Noticed a new speed camera stalk and trap lines on the road between the Tallaght and Cookstown Exits Northbound this morning.

I saw that pole the other day alright and was wondering what it was all about....isn't that a very straight section of motorway? How in Gods name can they say that's a dangerous section of the motorway!? :eek:

OldmanMondeo

Maybe the camera is not for speeding, but to catch the gobsh1tes that reverse back down the exit ramp to re-join the motorway, yes I have witnessed this on many occasions, or the fools who cut in at speed at the last minute to exit. I could go on with the amount of stupid manovers I have seen at motorway exits, especially on the M50 in the Tallaght area. Just because nobody has been killed from an accident on this strech, does not mean that there is not a high percentage of accidents.

Edit: read the post properly now, please ingore my rant.....

Seth Brundle

I presume this is the camera taken from the M50 exit at Ballymun

I.S.T.

Shooting fish in a barrell indeed. Less than 1% of fatal and injury collisions occur on motorways, 70% of fatal collisions occur on rural roads.

I.S.T.

Maybe the camera is not for speeding, but to catch the gobsh1tes that reverse back down the exit ramp to re-join the motorway

Unlikely, if they have painted markings on the road it is for speeding.

Wazdakka

I think its just one more example of the Garda saying that they are going to put more effort into monitering high risk areas and then just going purley for revinue generation :mad:

*Takes a deep breath

I know that there has been a few debates regarding the speed limit at the roadworks here over the last few days but once they are all done and finished i dont think anybody can argue that that is an appropriate place to put the first south side M50 speed camera. There are much more dangerous spots than a long (soon to be widened due to roadworks) straight...

stipey

There is an excellent article in the motoring section of the Irish Times today.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/motors/2007/0321/1173880658960.html (Subscription required).

Calling a halt to speed limit adjustment

SpeedLimits : setting an example Speed limits on our non-national roads are being set in an arbitrary and haphazard manner, argues Conor Twomey , which may do more harm than good

Earlier this month, Meath County Council voted on a proposal put forward by Dunshaughlin councillors to impose a blanket speed limit of 50km/h on all Non-National Class III roads in the county.

Although the proposal was rejected, the vote highlighted a significant problem with the way speed limits are assigned in Ireland.

The National Road Authority is responsible for the speed limits on all national roads and motorways, but limits on the remaining 96 per cent of roads in the country are the sole responsibility of local authorities.

The Road Traffic Act of 2004 clearly states what the maximum speed limit on each classification of road should be (50km/h in urban areas, 80km/h on non-national routes, 100km/h on national routes) but makes no distinction between the various types of non-national roads and still gives councillors an alarming degree of freedom in respect of the speed limits on these roads.

The act states that: "A county council or a city council may make bye-laws specifying, in respect of any specified public road . . . the speed limit", meaning that any non-national road speed limit can be amended, based on the whim of a local council rather than on a set of clearly defined regulations. There also appears to be no requirement for the county council to consult any experts or conduct any traffic or road surveys prior to making speed limit amendments.

The situation in Meath arose when local councillor Brian Fitzgerald took exception to a stretch of Non-National Class III road in his locality which he says has a 50km/h zone imposed on it for a short 150m stretch that passes a few houses. Along the remainder of the road, speeds of up to 80 km/h are permitted. In his opinion, the 80km/h speed limit was too high in the first place, which is why he proposed lowering the maximum speed limit on all such Class III roads to just 50km/h.

However, Department of Transport guidelines state that: "special speed limits are normally unnecessary where the character of the road itself limits the speed of most vehicles (at least 95 per cent) to a level at or below that of the limit under consideration," which implies that the councillor really shouldn't have been able to bring the matter up at all unless he was armed with some sort of evidence to justify his proposal.

However, the fact that Councillor Fitzgerald was still able to bring the matter to a vote at a county council meeting underlines the extraordinarily haphazard manner in which our speed limits are defined. The county council may have had the good sense to reject the Dunshaughlin councillors' proposal on this occasion but there was nothing to stop them approving the blanket speed limit if they so wished. All over the country there are wide open stretches of road where the speed limit suddenly drops by 20km/h or even 40km/h for no apparent reason (and which are often heavily policed under the premise of saving lives). Meanwhile, drivers can speed along poorly surfaced, single-lane boreens at anything up to 80km/h and not fall foul of the law because it seems the Department of Transport couldn't be bothered properly defining what the speed limit should be on the majority of Irish roads. This is why we end up with shiny new signs proclaiming the maximum speed to be 80km/h on roads in which two cars are incapable of passing one another safely or just ahead of major intersections and roundabouts. What must visitors think of us?

Further examination of the guidelines unearths more staggering admissions of outright laziness: "Speed limits should not be used to solve the problem of isolated hazards, such as a single road junction or bend, as these would be difficult to enforce over such a short length."

In most other European countries (and even in the US) the speed limits surrounding junctions on non-national roads are often lowered for obvious safety reasons, but in Ireland it seems that such limits might be a little bit difficult to enforce, so we just don't bother.

Dual carriageways with 60km/h limits are much easier to police, so let's just stick with those, eh? With up to 1,500 speed cameras about to be unleashed upon the public, wouldn't it make sense to conduct a proper review of all the country's speed limits and put sensible speed limits in place in dangerous areas and leave the open stretches of well engineered roads clear for traffic to make progress?

The Irish people accept that road safety is a serious issue and have shown a willingness to amend their ways.

The least the Department of Transport could do is provide sensible and appropriate speed limits - limits that motorists are likely to adhere to and which don't smack of being cynical revenue generators.

galwaytt

all this at a time when the Home Office have decided to stop allowing local authorities to keep any funds generated from speed cameras, and it is expected to see the number of cameras in the UK fall, from April onwards.

In part, an increase in dangerous, drunk and huge increase in uninsured driving, as well as the fact that accident statistics are no longer falling - due to the withdrawal of overt traffic police - has forced the Home Office to change policy.

So, how long for that penny to drop here, then...........??

Pherekydes

galwaytt wrote:

So, how long for that penny to drop here, then...........??

Forever?

Irish_Army01

Hi all,Newbe here..just wondering I came through the Speed trap on the M50(ballymount) doing approx 75kph at about 2.30 last night on my way home from work.

first time in a while I have used that route home from work and had no prior knowledge or warning of a speed trap..there was other cars on the road going roughly the same speed as myself and in some cases alot faster.. ..Am I stung???

There is a sign stating that the cameras go live on 2nd April, you're probably OK

Guy:Incognito

Irish_Army01 wrote:

first time in a while I have used that route home from work and had no prior knowledge or warning of a speed trap.

Are the numerous "60kmph" speed limit signs not a warning?

Irish_Army01

Deleted User wrote:

There is a sign stating that the cameras go live on 2nd April, you're probably OK

I see..Cheers

Irish_Army01

Stekelly wrote:

Are the numerous "60kmph" speed limit signs not a warning?

Correct and right..I was (honestly) slowing down.I had my foot off the Gas and was lightly pressing the brake and then came up to the strips on the road..

shayser

antodeco wrote:

Fish in a barrell. What annoys me is that there were 8 deaths over the bank holiday weekend, none in Dublin. I wonder what the actual percentage of deaths by county to number of speed cameras in the county is?

Its ridiculous putting up speed camera's on roads where nearly zero fatalities occur. Rant over!

That's not a rant. That's common sense.

Marcus.Aurelius

Have they put up camera signs before the cameras themselves. I used to think it was mandatory to warn motorists of the camera to avoid liability for accidents caused by people braking for the device.

maoleary

maoleary wrote:

Have they put up camera signs before the cameras themselves. I used to think it was mandatory to warn motorists of the camera to avoid liability for accidents caused by people braking for the device.

It is in the UK (and the cameras are paint in hi-vis colours), after a few accidents.

Not sure about here but there is a sign just before the N4 Lucan camera

Stark

Nope, there's nothing in Irish law that says there has to be a sign before a camera. Bertie has said that the new private cameras will be well marked out for the first year or so, but after that, the signs are coming down.

Savman

Stark wrote:

Nope, there's nothing in Irish law that says there has to be a sign before a camera. Bertie has said that the new private cameras will be well marked out for the first year or so, but after that, the signs are coming down.

So in reality: "we're givin yiz a head start cos we don't need new mercs til '08"
:rolleyes:

Why do I get the feeling this speed camera plan wont have a happy ending...

I.S.T.

Hi Folks,

we've added some photos of the two new M50 speed cameras on the following link:

http://www.irishspeedtraps.com/m50cameraphotos.aspx

.

Meister

Is there a GPS "solution" yet, like UK?

antodeco

IrishSpeedTraps wrote:

Hi Folks,

we've added some photos of the two new M50 speed cameras on the following link:

http://www.irishspeedtraps.com/m50cameraphotos.aspx

.

Notice all the tyre marks as you come upto it? Its only a matter of time...

I.S.T.

antodeco wrote:

Notice all the tyre marks as you come upto it? Its only a matter of time...

Yeah, it would be interesting to see how many accidents actually happen at speed camera locations.

sc4rf4ce

that 60k zone is so bloody annoying. fair enough that the road is wrecked, but is there no other way of doing the upgrades to the road without completely destroying it, and turning the motorway into almost a back road.

Seth Brundle

The 60km/hr limit is in place because of the poor sods who have to work alongside the passing traffic and not because of the 'wrecked' road!

stratos

working on the side of a motorway is a scary place. people don't realise it.
A blow out or reaching for a cd at speed could kill some hapless motorway employees. slow down at road works you could kill some innocent person. people are more important then your schedule.

IrishSpeedTraps

IrishSpeedTraps wrote:

Yeah, it would be interesting to see how many accidents actually happen at speed camera locations.

Yes that's why the cameras have "warning signs (disguised as "information" signs)" and are "day-glo" orange in the UK, it reduces the number of lawsuits the police (local councils) have to deal with.