Gardaí should be trained to examine video footage where a road traffic offence has occurred – Cannon

A dedicated portal should be established by An Garda Síochána to assess video footage from cyclists where a suspected road traffic offence has occurred, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Galway East Deputy Ciaran Cannon said a specially trained Garda traffic unit should be set up to examine footage from cyclists and other road users which could be used as evidence in bringing forward prosecutions where offences have occurred.

Deputy Cannon said: “Here in Ireland, we have been relatively successful in bringing forward legislation that seeks to protect cyclists on our roads, in particular legislation that obliges motorists to overtake cyclists safely.

“However, there’s a major inconsistency of approach when it comes to enforcing this legislation.

“Many cyclists now have the capacity to video record incidences of dangerous overtaking manoeuvres by motorists, but when they try to submit this video evidence to their local Garda station, it is often met with a lack of knowledge of how to bring forward a prosecution using video evidence. We need to fix this, and urgently.

“The solution is to create a dedicated portal for the submission of video evidence from cyclists and indeed all road users.

“Every motorist with a dash camera, or a cyclist with a helmet camera, can become the eyes and ears of our Gardaí in terms of road safety enforcement.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. Police forces in Wales, England and Queensland have already created such video portals and have developed special training modules for officers to be able to assess the video evidence and act accordingly. We need to follow their example.

“The number of cyclists, young and old, on our roads has increased exponentially and all of them need to feel safe. They need to know that all evidence of dangerous behaviour they record will be dealt with professionally.

“I have asked Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys to consider directing An Garda Síochána to set up this portal, and I look forward to working with her to progress work in this area as a priority,” Deputy Cannon concluded.