Traffic Corp Must Be Priority for New Garda Commissioner

AA Ireland has today called on newly appointed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to include tackling insurance fraud and increasing the strength of the Garda Traffic Corps among his priorities in this new role.

The motoring organisation highlighted that while recent commitments to improve Traffic Corps numbers were welcome, much still needs to be done after numbers fell to the lowest levels seen in recent years – 623 – in 2017. While plans to grow this number are in place for 2018, the AA has called on the newly appointed Commissioner to ensure this growth continues in subsequent years at an accelerated pace.

“In terms of minimising the number of deaths on our road we have made a lot of progress in recent years, but cuts to the Traffic Crops have threatened to derail this progress. A commitment to having more Gardaí out on our roads is also a clear signal that road safety and avoiding fatalities is high on our country’s priority list,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated.

The AA also highlighted that a great deal of work and particularly investment in improved resources for Gardaí will be required as instances of insurance fraud become more common.

“As a country we have to move into the 21^st century and stop asking Gardaí to do the tough job of identifying uninsured vehicles on the roadside with only a flashlight for assistance. Insurance fraud is far from a victimless crime but it Is a crime that can be prevented by expanding the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology among Gardaí and bringing our policing into the modern day needs to be a priority,” Faughnan added. “The new Garda Commissioner is coming from the PSNI who have extensive experience using ANPR and we would hope that he will push for the introduction of this same technology on this side of the border.”

Earlier this year the AA published an update to its 5 Point Plan to tackle motor insurance prices, which included a call for improved resources for Gardaí.