CAMERAS WILL STOP DRIVERS ON PHONES
Faughnan says we’ll overcome legal obstacles
LEGAL obstacles to cameras catching drivers on mobile phones are a bump in the road and will not block new legislation, it is claimed.
Justice Minister Helen Mcentee last month vowed that cameras will be deployed to assist gardai in identifying lawbreakers amid a crackdown on Ireland’s dismal road safety record.
Garda figures show there has been a 26% rise in road deaths year-on-year.
Concerns about the legality of the camera operation have been expressed – but a road safety expert yesterday insisted it will get the green light.
Conor Faughnan of the Royal Irish Automobile Club dismissed the legal obstacles and claimed: “There is no good reason in the wide world why we shouldn’t do this in Ireland.”
The RIAC chief said: “This is an unnecessary delay.
“Legal issues are not unsolvable. They can be fixed quite quickly.
“There is no issue here with natural justice. It’s a perfectly sensible thing to do. We have the technology.
“It’s in use in the UK. It is Artificial Intelligence that allows a robot to see if a person is using a phone and then flags with a human police officer.
“The officer then decides whether to seek a prosecution. It is a very simple and clever system.
“The camera can see if you are using a phone and if you are not wearing a seatbelt.” When CONCERN
Minister Mcentee announced plans for cameras to detect drivers’ phone use, it was understood that automatic fines could be issued.
This would be similar to automatic fines being issued for breaking the speed limit.
Recipients of fixed notices can instead decide to go to court to contest the fine.
It is against the law for motorists to drive without a seatbelt or to use a mobile phone, including
by holding it to the ear or resting it on, for example, their lap. The issue was raised last week when Taoiseach Simon Harris chaired a meeting about this year’s high number of road fatalities.
Mr Faughnan said on RTE Radio 1: “If we are told that legal concerns are an issue, these are technical legal concerns.
“They are certainly not issues of natural justice.
“If we need legislation to do it, the Government should crack on.
“The camera technology is superb. It can read vehicle registration numbers of six lanes of fast-moving traffic in both directions.
“The technology is extraordinary, what it can capture. This isn’t science fiction. It’s actually quite simple.
“The robot can look at thousands of images, far faster than any human eye.
“If it flags an image that might show a phone user, it flags that for the human.”
He added: “Phone use is a very dangerous, poor driving habit.”