New speed-detection systems are to be used on the main Dublin to Belfast road in a bid to cut death rates. Special cameras capable of measuring motorists' average speed over distance were unveiled yesterday outside Newry, Co Down.
Those identified as speeding, regardless of which side of the Border, will soon be issued with fixed-penalty fines under European legislation. The PSNI and the Garda have been in consultation about the installation of anti-speeding measures in the Republic, but it is not yet known when improvements will be announced.
The Speed Enforcement Camera System (Specs) differs from traditional "snapshot" speed cameras in that they record a vehicle's speed at two points some kilometres apart. Police hope that motorists who have slowed when passing cameras only to speed up again will now change their behaviour.
If successful, the system could be unveiled elsewhere in Northern Ireland, the PSNI said.
Specs has been in use in Britain as well as on continental Europe and has been proven to cut speed, the PSNI's Roy Toner said.
"It is a more appropriate system for the objective of reducing people's speed, as we have a longer stretch of road over which we measure. One of the difficulties with static cameras is that they only moderate people's speed at that particular point. This system produces fewer detections because people can see the cameras and slow themselves down."
The system has been deployed on two stretches near Newry at a cost of £500,000 (€724,000). The area, which has one of the highest road death totals in the North, has seen 15 fatalities and 32 serious injuries in the past five years.
Sinn Féin Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy called for more investment. "This means redesigning dangerous roads and ensuring that money is invested in maintenance. The fact that 35 per cent of all road deaths occur in the Border areas cannot be dissociated from the huge under-investment in the rural roads network.
"Under direct rule, the road maintenance and structural maintenance budgets have been slashed and the rural road network almost totally ignored."
Alliance's Kieran McCarthy said: "If these cameras help in reducing speed on this road, I would hope they are introduced elsewhere to improve road safety in other parts of Northern Ireland. It's good to see this new system can monitor speeds over longer distances, so hopefully it will be effective in deterring people from speeding."
Seventy-five people have been killed on the North's roads so far this year.