Speed camera installed on N3

Commissioning, testing and validation currently taking place.

Average speed cameras have been installed on the N3 between Cavan Town and Belturbet.

One of three sites to go operational before the end of the year, the move is part of a €2.4M garda spend and crackdown on speeding, which is seen as one of the main contributors to road deaths in Ireland.

Static and average speed cameras, it's hoped, will aid enforcement, visibility and education in a bid to reduce road deaths as part of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy. The locations were selected based on fatal and serious injury collision data from the last seven years and speed data, as well as feedback from various stakeholders.

Commissioning, testing and validation of the infrastructure and safety cameras has commenced and will continue for a number of weeks.

The purchase of infrastructure and operation of this initial phase of safety cameras is being funded initiative by An Garda Síochána.

The completion of this initial phase is being made possible with the assistance and cooperation of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Local Authorities, LGMA, ESB and all contractors involved, including groundworks and installation funding.

As the roll-out of this phase of safety cameras (3 average Safety Camera systems and 9 Static Safety Cameras) continues, An Garda Síochána will provide further information as and when new locations move into the testing phase.

An Garda Síochána will provide advance notification prior to any Safety Camera site commencing an enforcement phase.

An Garda Síochána meanwhile also welcomed the announcement in Budget 2025 of €9 million in funding for up to 100 new static safety cameras.

As of Tuesday morning last, October 1, there had been 136 deaths recorded on the country's roads, one more than the same period last year.

Of those killed to date in 2024, 54 were drivers, 30 were vehicle passengers, 22 pedestrians died, 17 were motorcyclists, nine were cyclists, three were e-scooter riders, and one death involved a pillion passenger.

There have been two road deaths in Cavan so far this year, including that of Dylan Costin (24) from Belturbet who died following a single vehicle crash on the N3 at Drumcrave.

Multiple other serious road traffic collisions have occurred on the N3 in only the last 12 months.

The newly-installed average speed cameras cover a near 10-kilometre stretch between Kilduff and Billis.

Average speed cameras on the M7 and Port Tunnel have already proven effective in reducing speed.

Gardaí say that international experience shows static speed cameras do lead to drivers reducing speed.

Studies conducted in Sweden and Norway have shown that safety cameras can reduce fatal collisions by 38% to 49%, and a London School of Economics Study found fatal collisions decreased by 58 to 68% within 500 metres of safety cameras.

Along with the two average safety camera systems installed on the N3 (Cavan) and N5 (Mayo), with static speed cameras to be located on the N59 (Galway), N25 (Waterford), R772 (Wicklow), N14 (Donegal), N80 (Carlow), Dublin (Dolphin’s Barn), N17 (Mayo), N22 (Cork), and N69 (Limerick).

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What is an average safety camera?

Average safety cameras work by monitoring a vehicle's speed over a certain distance, rather than at a single point.

Unlike static safety camera detection which measures the motorists speed at one particular point along the road, average Safety cameras monitor a driver’s average speed while driving between two points.

How do average safety cameras work?

Average safety cameras use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to record the time, date, and location of each vehicle that passes through an entry and exit point.

Drivers detected exceeding the speed limit i.e. travelling from point A to point B too quickly, are issued with a Fixed Charge Notice which, when processed, assigns three penalty points to the drivers licence and a fine of up to €160.

Why use average safety cameras?

The objective of the cameras is to prevent death and serious injury on Irish roads. Speed is a factor in the severity of outcome of many collisions, and is a cause in 30% of fatal collisions.