CAMERAS SPECIFICALLY FOR bus lanes are to be rolled out next year in a bid to tackle speed and misuse, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has confirmed.

Speaking to reporters at a roundtable interview this week, Ryan said policing of bus lanes is “really problematic” and that driver behaviour has disimproved through and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ryan said using camera technology to enforce the use of bus lanes will help with speed management in city and urban areas.

The full scale and details of the project have not yet been confirmed but Ryan described it as a “critical project” focused on road safety.

According to the Minister, some €27m has been earmarked to roll out more speed cameras across the country, including average speed cameras on national and primary roads.

These would be similar to the one installed on the N7 and in the Dublin port tunnel.

Average speed cameras involve the use of two cameras at separate points on the road, at least 200 metres apart.

When a driver passes the first camera, it will record their number plate. When they then pass the second camera the system will time how long it took to travel between the two points to calculate the average speed.

Ryan said a priority will be putting these average cameras on primary roads that are not segregated and other dangerous junctions or carriageways where he conceded we “have a real problem” with road safety.

“We don’t have the exact number yet.

“It will be a slow start but next year we will start rolling [them] out seriously.

“It won’t be hundreds. There’ll be a single figure, high single figure,” Ryan said.

The Minister intends to look to the Scottish model of use as a guide for developing the Irish model.

Meanwhile, drivers are being urged to reduce their speed and stay safe on the roads over the festive period after a “horrendous” year for road deaths.

The impact speed can have on casualties and fatalities was emphasised by the Road Safety Authority earlier this month where it stated that if hit at 60km/h, nine in 10 pedestrians will be killed, while if hit at 30km/h, nine in 10 people will survive.