Seanad debates

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

5:05 pm

Photo of Kathryn ReillyKathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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This matter is related to speed enforcement zones and something that was raised with me by someone in my own locality. We all know that the safety of children of special concern to many professionals and the public due to their increased vulnerability. Due to their smaller size, they are probably less conspicuous to drivers and their behaviour can be more unexpected compared to that of adults. It is also more difficult for a child to judge a vehicle's speed and distance. When we discuss speed enforcement and speed limits near schools, it is important to remember that at certain times, there are heavy flows of traffic into and out of the schools and when oncoming traffic does not heed speed limits or warnings during these times, the lives of children, their parents and teachers are put in danger. This is particularly the case on main roads off which schools might be located as is the case with a school in my area which is also near many bad bends and has experienced a number of accidents and the movement of large vehicles due to its closeness to a quarry. It is not rare to see speeding cars coming up the road without any thought for school traffic or having to brake suddenly, which may risk an accident. Parents have approached me with concerns about the speed of some of these drivers during these important times, be it in the morning when they are dropping off their children or in the afternoon when they are collecting them.

I am inquiring about how speed enforcement zones are delegated and if consideration is given to the location of schools along roads, particularly main roads and primary roads. I am aware that the demand for speed limits in these zones is not necessarily 24-7, 365 days a year. However, during these peak hours, particularly during the school term, there should be some kind of enforcement or indeed speed van to make sure that drivers are heeding any speed limits or are slowing down and not driving dangerously and putting the lives of young children, teachers and parents at risk.

Photo of Tom HayesTom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who regrets that he is unable to be present due to other business. The Minister is in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner in respect of a wide range of road safety matters but the House will appreciate that detailed speed enforcement strategy is principally an operational matter for the Garda authorities. The legislation regarding speed limits is a matter for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Effective local and national roads policing is central to the Garda policing plan and the level of Garda enforcement remains high and determined throughout the country. The policing priorities that the Minister has set for 2014 include a strong focus on targeted enforcement measures directed at reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Excessive or inappropriate speed continues to be a significant contributory factor in the number of serious and fatal injuries arising from road collisions. Under the new road safety strategy 2013-20 and building on earlier strategies, An Garda Síochána is implementing a series of visible enforcement initiatives, including the outsourced safety camera network, targeting high-risk behaviour such as speeding and focusing on identified vulnerable road users. In this context, An Garda Síochána, in conjunction with the National Roads Authority, has designated specific sections of roads as "speed enforcement zones". This was done following an extensive analysis of five years of collision data where speed was deemed the primary contributory factor in the incident.

An Garda Síochána utilises these zones in order to direct speed enforcement activity in a proportionate and targeted manner including through the use of safety camera vans. Each site must be clearly visible and risk assessed to ensure the health and safety of both the public and van operators. Signage is erected at the start of each speed enforcement zone. The locations, which are kept under review by the Garda authorities, are in the public domain and are available on the Garda website garda.ie.

Insofar as the location of schools is concerned, divisional Garda enforcement activity is directed in line with the probability of occurrence of fatal and serious injuries on our roads at targeted locations as reflected in the speed enforcement zones. The Minister is assured, however, that additional enforcement activity is also conducted outside these zones as required by local district officers. A factor in determining the location and type of Garda enforcement activity includes the presence of vulnerable road users and young road users in particular.

The Minister has no direct role in the identification of these speed enforcement zones or the deployment of Garda resources but in the context of community policing generally, local Garda management will, of course, be highly attuned to concerns regarding school locations and road safety. I should also say that road safety awareness is an important component in the Garda schools programme, as indeed it is within the overall road safety strategy, and a range of road safety education initiatives are specifically targeted at children. It is also important to say that all road users have a part to play in improving road safety for children. Persons driving in or around school locations, in particular at the beginning and end of the school day, need to take particular care to comply with speed limits, to expect the unexpected and to have a heightened consideration for children walking and cycling in the area.

Insofar as the question of speed limits are concerned, as I have said, these are a matter for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who has under the Road Traffic Acts 2004, set ordinary default speed limits in respect of built-up areas, non-urban regional roads, local roads, national roads and motorways.

However, a county or city council may make special speed limit by laws in respect of particular roads within its administrative area, in consultation with the Garda Síochána and in respect of national primary and secondary roads, with the National Roads Authority. To assist in this process, in 2011 the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport issued guidelines for the application of speed limits to all local authorities.

Road safety is a major consideration in the application of speed limits. As part of a direction by the then Minister for Transport in 2011, all local authorities were requested to undertake an assessment of special speed limits in their functional areas. To assist in this, the present Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport formed a stakeholder working group, including An Garda Síochána and the relevant road safety partners, to carry out a review of speed limits on roads throughout the country. A comprehensive speed limits review was published on 21 November, 2013, following detailed consideration of this very complex issue by the working group. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has accepted all recommendations from the working group designed to address a number of matters relating to the operation of speed limits on our roads. It is planned that all the recommendations contained in the report will be implemented over a two-year period.

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank the Senator for raising these important issues. Garda road safety operations are based on identified risks, taking into account collision history and local road safety considerations and the enforcement zones are identified through the process I have described. While detailed enforcement measures are a matter for the Garda authorities, the Minister wishes to assure the Senator that vulnerable road-users, such as children, are a particular concern and enforcement measures are configured at a local level to take into account the concerns and needs of the community.

The Minister asks everyone in the community to support An Garda Síochána in its efforts and to take the utmost care when driving in or around schools. The unfortunate reality, however, is that people ignore speed limits and that a significant number of fatalities and serious injuries arise as a result of speeding. Last year, 190 people lost their lives on our roads. Half of this number were driver fatalities, of whom 80% were male and 50% were between the ages of 16 and 34. Slowing down would have prevented many of these fatalities. The Garda advice is that just a few kilometres per hour in speed can be the difference in avoiding a collision or in preventing a minor collision becoming a fatal or serious accident. We cannot expect gardaí to be on every corner of every road. Too many lives have been lost or grievously harmed because of speeding, with all the tragic consequences for families and loved ones. Everyone in our community needs to take responsibility and to challenge speeding behaviour, in particular, the culture of speeding which exists among some young men.

5:15 pm

Photo of Kathryn ReillyKathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply.