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Speeding detections up 750%
27.10.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
SPEEDING detections in Inishowen this year are up a
whopping 750 per cent on twelve months ago, new
figures reveal.
Speaking at a Joint Policing Committee meeting in
Buncrana on Monday, Superintendent Kevin English
said the huge increase was due to the introduction
of ‘Go Safe’ vans added to ongoing Garda detections
across the peninsula.
Mobile speed cameras have been highly controversial
since they were first deployed here last November
and have since snapped hundreds of local motorists
driving above the speed limit across Inishowen.
While specific figures have not been released, fines
issued along with penalty points will have raised
tens of thousands of euro for the government this
year.
Many, like Buncrana taxi-driver Barney Griffin,
believe that the speed traps are continuing to catch
the wrong people in the wrong places. |
“I have no problem with
the speed vans if they are on the right roads but
they are deliberately sitting on the edge of towns
here so that they can make more money out of
people,” he said.
“They were supposed to be put on fast roads where
accidents occur but instead they are concentrating
on catching people driving a few kilometres over the
limit coming into the towns. I am not condemning the
speed vans but they are not being used properly,” he
added. |
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Garda 'Go Safe' van. |
Supt English said that
‘by and large’ the vans were deployed at locations
where accidents had frequently occurred. He said
they are flexible and can change though. He urged
anyone with an issue regarding a speed van to
contact him in writing at Buncrana Garda station. He
revealed that a mobile unit near the Inishowen
Gateway Hotel had recently been moved on as a result
of public concerns.
He said it was ‘unfortunate’ that a NowDoc driver
recently decided to pay a fine and accept penalty
points before creating a ‘media issue’.
“If the person brought it to my attention it could
have been dealt with using a common sense approach,”
Supt English added. In an outrageous attack last
April, a speed van was set alight near Carn. |
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