Anti-speeding TV campaign to begin next week

A new television advert highlighting the dangers of speeding will appear on Irish TV screens from next Thursday.

The ad is part of an all-island anti-speeding campaign which will be launched during Global Road Safety Week, on April 23rd. The campaign has been developed in partnership with the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland.

While the emphasis is on reducing speed, road safety agencies in the Republic are also trying to "win the moral argument" for the need for greater enforcement ahead of a dramatic increase in the number of speeding checks later this year, when privatised cameras are introduced and the strength of the Garda Traffic Corps increases.

The privatised company appointed to install and operate speed cameras in this jurisdiction will be paid a fixed fee, which will not be linked to the number of vehicles caught speeding. The Garda will also decide where the new cameras are placed.

David Lyle of LyleBailie International, which designed the new campaign, contrasts this approach with what happened in England where motorists' attitudes towards increased use of speed cameras eventually soured as the new regime was seen as a revenue generating mechanism.

"I think we have a preparatory duty to the public for the introduction of speed cameras. The public then has a right to take their own preparatory action.

"Because the English didn't have a campaign of winning the moral argument about how irresponsible bad road behaviour is, they lost the battle with speed cameras," Mr Lyle said.

"You had this massive increase in speed camera enforcement, not supported by advertising, that was trying to emotionally win the argument. Because they didn't have that supporting campaign, the level of hostility to speed cameras has been remarkable."

Mr Lyle said the starting point of the new campaign would be a statement from the World Health Organisation (WHO): "Speed is the biggest determinant of the outcome of a crash, about whether someone walks away or dies."

The WHO has identified deaths and serious injuries from road crashes as a significant, growing health concern, with excessive speed a major cause.

Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock, head of the Garda Traffic Corps, said the focus on random breath testing had taken attention away from excessive speed, which remains the main cause of road fatalities.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Rock said: "We have been working hard on random breath testing for six months and people are now not drinking and driving in the way they were. Speeding has been left behind a bit and we are going to address that."

He said speed enforcement would rise this year, as the Traffic Corps increases to more than 1,000 personnel.

"We are also updating the Gatsos (speed cameras) to give them night-time capability.

"Our priority is to save lives. If people don't slow down, endorsement will increase until they do."

Mr Rock said the all-Ireland nature of the new speeding campaigns was important.

"We have the issue of people speeding coming along the Border from both sides so it is important that we are giving the same message to all motorists," he said.

A further mechanism to engender public support for increased speed camera usage will see the new camera sites clearly identified by signs for the first six months, or so. However, after this time, the use of covert checks is expected to increase.

Research also suggests that speeding is viewed as a less serious motoring offence than drink-driving.

While almost nine out of 10 people surveyed for an RSA study agreed that drink-driving was shameful and were supportive of stricter penalties, speeding is not seen in the same way.

Only six out of 10 Irish motorists see speeding as shameful, which, although far higher than equivalent studies in the UK, is far lower than drink-driving.