Under surveillance: Gardaí get registration checker

GARDAÍ YESTERDAY showcased their Puma on-board surveillance systems, 104 of which have been fitted to marked and unmarked Garda cars, with a further 30 due in the next three months.

Puma compares the registration plates of up to six vehicles per second with a database downloaded daily from the insurance industry and the National Vehicle and Driver File. Vehicles which are displayed as untaxed, uninsured or having been reported as stolen are instantly stopped, while the presence of vehicles whose owners may be of interest to gardaí, can be noted and recorded.

The system can also record up to 82 hours of driver behaviour, monitoring infringements such as driving across white lines, using a mobile phone or impaired or aggressive driving. Such material can and has been used in court.

But gardaí say the most widespread use of their Puma system is its ability to calculate speeds of passing vehicles without the use of radar or laser guns. Gardaí use the on-board computer to calibrate the distance between two points and hit a button when a suspect speeding vehicle passes each one. The result is used in evidence even if the drivers are not actually stopped.

While a caution for a minor infringement may be appropriate in some cases of poor driver behaviour, gardaí are also in the position to use the Pulse computer system to get up-to-date information on a driver’s history including previous warnings issued.

The information technology denies the perpetrator the opportunity to claim their behaviour is out of character, or a first time, according to gardaí.

Gardaí also said they will use their discretionary powers to breathalyse all drivers involved in collisions, in advance of such moves becoming mandatory, as proposed in a new road traffic Bill.