Gardaí following up on lights jumping at road works

EVERY year there are hundreds of incursions into road works which put road workers lives at risk and lead to deaths and serious injury. And this has spurred one local authority to act.

A campaign which has its focus on the lack of awareness of some drivers that roadworks are a place of work for thousands of people - and that all of us have a right to expect a safe working environment - is being put in place by Mayo County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and An Garda Síochána.

Two high definition CCTV cameras have been installed at a location on the upgrade of the N60 at Lagnamuck, Balla, in a bid to crackdown on motorists breaking traffic lights and speeding through the road works site.

Mayo County Council, working with P&D Lydon Civil Engineering contractors, and the gardaí, installed the CCTV system at the site to assist gardaí in identifying and apprehending offenders.

The gardaí also have a presence at the road works to monitor driver behaviour and to enforce the lower road works speed limit.

Under the scheme, the footage has been fed back to gardaí who will review it and then issue fixed charge penalty notices to any drivers found to be speeding of breaking the traffic lights.

Initially there were over 200 motorists breaking the red lights at the roadworks. This has improved since the cameras were installed and due to the garda presence.

Some of the footage, which shows cars putting themselves and others in danger, has been posted on social media.

It is envisaged that this scheme will be introduced to other road work schemes also where there are similar issues.

Commented Noel Gibbons, road safety officer with Mayo County Council: “For some reason a small minority of drivers still find it acceptable to put road workers lives in danger by not taking care when they go through roadworks. This campaign is about reminding road users that roadworks are like any other work place, and our workers have just as much right to work in a safe environment.

“The message is clear: ‘A line of cones won’t stop a speeding car but you can!’ We know you want to get home but so do our workers - see the cones obey the zones.”

Added Superintendent Kevin Gatley: “Improving safety at roadworks takes real collaboration across all agencies and I am delighted that we have come together to jointly support this campaign. It epitomises the spirit of cooperation that exists in our county on this important issue as we continue our work to ensure that nobody comes to harm as a result of working on or using our roads.

“We will be following up on the footage of motorists jumping the traffic lights.”