‘Speeding cars, I’m gunning for you – and I’ve got an itchy trigger finger’

Hitting people in the pocket has always been an effective way to change public behaviour, so heftier fines and extra speed cameras ought to slow dangerous drivers down – so long as they believe that they’re likely to get caught. I t’s easy to change a speed limit, trickier to change behaviour – and I can state with confidence that many drivers drive too fast when they feel they’re not being observed. I know this as a fact, because drivers tear up and down my road – and my speed gun confirms the majority drive faster than the residential 30kmh limit.

In May 2020 we bought the gun online (it’s a Bushnell radar gun, $129 from the US), because even in lockdown with deserted roads we were stunned at how fast people were driving. As part of our homeschooling routine (and probably for something to do!) we parked the kids outside for a geography project. The plan was to note how many drivers went over the limit – and we found most drivers did.

We later supplemented the process with a green loudhailer (we got that from Flying Tiger) so we could yell out what speed the cars were cruising at. They did slow down then. These speeding cars disturb me, because I want to let my kids roam around without worrying.

I want to let them cycle places on their own. I nipped out with my gun yesterday, to check if the news that speeding fines are to double had made any difference (you will soon be slapped with a €160 fine, or €120 if you’re caught using your phone). Expand Close Mary McCarthy with her speed gun and green loudhailer / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mary McCarthy with her speed gun and green loudhailer My findings were depressing.

Out of six cars, only two drivers were within the limit – and one driving at 45kmh in the 30-zone was glued to their phone. The roads were empty in lockdown, but in 2020 we had a similar number of road deaths as we had in 2019, which suggests the love of speeding needs to be reined in. So far this year, 94 people have died on our roads.

That’s 28 more than the same period last year. Recent decades have seen the numbers of deaths on the roads dramatically fall, thanks to an attitude change towards drink driving. Daily Digest Newsletter Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.

30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter. Enter email address This field is required Sign Up In 1985, for instance, 450 lives were lost on the roads. Since 2010 we have not gone over 200 deaths; it would be so sad to reverse this trend.

To further modify behaviour, 61 new speed camera zones went live around Ireland on Tuesday last. Research shows death and injury rates on roads in all countries are reduced when strict speeding rules apply. People know where these new cameras are placed, so this will help make these parts of the roads safer.

But the beefed-up fines will make a difference only if people feel they are likely to get caught. I get so cross with drivers speeding on my road – but of course the truth is that when I’m running late I often go over the limit, or speed up to make traffic lights. I reckon what would really work on me would be cameras in traffic lights.

They do this in London. The result is that nobody tries breaking the lights. Friends who have moved to Ireland from there tell me they think Irish drivers are maniacs.

Expand Close Fines for speeding, mobile phone usage, and failing to wear a seatbelt will be doubled in the coming weeks. Photo: Gardaí. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fines for speeding, mobile phone usage, and failing to wear a seatbelt will be doubled in the coming weeks.

Photo: Gardaí. Earlier this year, we learned red-light breaking was mostly to blame for Luas collisions in Dublin – but cameras at these blackspots have lain idle, or have not been installed. I see people breaking red lights everywhere.

Cars speed up when they approach the ones near my house. Couldn’t Dublin City Council go to the private market tomorrow and say: “Install cameras on red lights in built-up areas, and we’ll give you this much revenue in the next five years. ” Would companies not bite off their hands to do it? But in the end, if we want safer roads we need an attitude change – and I think the key here is making people accept they must simply allocate more time for transportation.

If they’re not running late, they won’t be as likely to speed. Like with the drink-driving ads, we could run a public information campaign on this. And taking away the speed benefit could galvanise more to take public transport, which would help reduce our emissions.

If it’s going to take you a bit longer to drive somewhere, you may as well be reading your book on the bus. And anyway driving is very frustrating, with the volume of cars on the roads now. Expand Close We must change our attitudes to car culture / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp We must change our attitudes to car culture There were fewer than one million vehicles in 1985.

Today there are more than 2. 8 million cars on the roads. If everyone kept within the speed limits, more people would be happier to climb on a bike – further reducing our emissions.

With so many more cars, it’s amazing that road deaths have fallen over the past 30 years. Changing attitudes to drink-driving played a big part. And now we need another cultural shift, in people accepting getting from A to B will take longer.

Another thing we could do is offer automatic (and free) re-education programmes for those who get points for speeding. My father-in-law, who lives in France, was caught speeding and paid a fine of €35. He also did a two-day re-education course (paying €90 for tuition) and so was able to magic the three points away.

You can do this up to four points. The courses are compulsory if you lose your licence by accumulating 12 points. He said the course was an eye-opener.

He learned that every car has the same braking distance. So the excuse “my car is safe” is rubbish. He learned the first question asked by the medics at A&E is “how fast were you going” – because that’s decisive for the internal injuries you don’t immediately know about.

So this bank holiday weekend, let’s hope people driving on all our roads – and not just the ones with the new cameras – keep this in mind. .