Cameras to catch motorists breaking red lights at notorious blackspots have lain idle or not been installed for more than five years despite transport chiefs being warned they were crucial in preventing “serious injury or even death”.
Red light infringements are mainly to blame for Luas collisions in Dublin, particularly at three dangerous junctions – Blackhall Place, Con Colbert Road and Queen Street – where detection cameras were to be set up in 2010.
The National Transport Authority (NTA), which has overall responsibility for the scheme, has admitted the camera at Blackhall Place has been unused since 2016, while the other two were never installed.
In a report on the cameras, commissioned by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the NTA was warned of a “major concern” about the safety of Luas passengers as a result of widespread red-light running in the capital.
The internal study, seen by The Irish Times, showed 813 violations by buses, cars, vans, taxis and cyclists over a 164-day initial test period during the first three months of 2010 – an average of five a day.
Twelve offences involved road users breaking the red light more than 50 seconds after it appeared, 410 drove through the junction between five and 50 seconds after the red light appeared, while 391 detections were within five seconds.
Of the offences, 139 happened during rush hour between 7am and 9:30am, while 155 occurred between 9:31am and noon.
Cars and vans were the worst offenders (337), followed by cyclists (254), taxis (136) and buses or coaches (24).
By the third “enforcement” phase of the scheme – the final three months of 2016 – the number of offences had halved.
The TII report, completed in June 2016, noted red-light cameras were bought from traffic and transport specialists Elmore Group and a contract for their operation was agreed almost six years previously.
Luas crashes
It states the “main contributory factor” for Luas crashes “is the high number of road traffic collisions” and that analysis proved “the main causation factor is red-light infringement by road vehicles at signalised junctions where the Luas interfaces with road traffic”.
Just applying the emergency brake on Luas trams can also “cause minor injuries to unsuspecting Luas passengers”, with 43-metre long trams carrying a capacity of 285 commuters.
Similar technology has been successful “worldwide, in countries including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States”, it was noted.
The technology could be “applied to other junctions in Dublin, and in other parts of the country, where motorists breaking red lights is particularly problematic”.