Ireland’s First Average Speed Camera Enforcement System Goes Live in Dublin Port Tunnel.

1st June 2017

Professional drivers are very aware of the benefit of the Dublin Port Tunnel, its well located, easy to use, its toll free and cuts out having to drive through congested city traffic. The tunnels is designed to move port freight and passenger traffic and currently transports most of the aviation fuel used in Dublin Airport.

It was announced last June by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and An Garda Siochana that a new average speed detection system would be installed in the tunnel, which would track drivers and calculate their speed through its 4.5km distance.

The new technology to catch speeding motorists in the Port Tunnel has now been tested to satisfaction and will come into operation at 00.00 hours today 1st June. Drivers exceeding the speed limit in the tunnel will be caught using a new safety system that tracks their average speed through the tunnel. Any motorist that includes HGV’s and Coaches completing the journey in anything less than three minutes and 30 seconds would be breaking the 80kmh speed limit.

When the system determines that a vehicle has exceeded the speed limit, it will automatically create a record of the violation, which will then be communicated to Gardai. This will result in automatic fines of €80 plus three penalty points.
The average speed is recorded between two camera positions covering both lanes in both bores of the tunnel therefore switching lanes will have no effect on average speed monitoring.

Traffic levels through the tunnel have increased by 40% over the last five years, which means that, statistically, there is a greater chance of collisions and accidents. Around 24,000 vehicles use the tunnel every day, and research suggests that use of the average speed detection system can reduce collision rates by as much as 50%. We have also seen over the past four years a number of events that we consider extremely serious. The over turned rigid truck in 2015 and the tanker that went on fire going through the tunnel.  

The problem with a tunnel is the extreme danger it poses to those who get caught up in a traffic accident and to the members of the fire, ambulance and rescue services who must go in and deal with such accidents. Anything that will reduce the risk of an accident in a tunnel is very welcome. 80 Km/h is fast by any tunnel standard. 


This Truck Overturned in the tunnel in 2015
September 2015
“Inferno was most frightening thing I’ve ever seen” – witness describes Port Tunnel fire-
Picture  Kyran O’Brien