Speed Camera News IRISH NEWS: Speed-camera van target of suspected firebomb attack
Speed-camera van target of suspected firebomb attack
Firefighters work to put out the blaze in a Go Safe van outside Arklow, Co Wicklow, yesterday
By Paul Melia
Monday March 14 2011
GARDAI are investigating a suspected firebomb attack on a speed-camera van parked on the roadside.
The Go Safe van was conducting a speed survey on the old N11 road, two miles south of Arklow in Co Wicklow, when it was attacked shortly after 7pm last night.
The van was destroyed in the blaze and gardai believe a petrol bomb may have been used. No one was injured in the incident. It is understood the van was unoccupied when the attack occurred.
This is the second attack on a detection van since private company Go Safe was awarded the contract to conduct national speed checks last November.
Just two weeks after the initiative was launched, the window of a van parked near Dundalk, Co Louth, was smashed in and the front compartment set ablaze.
The operator, who was in the back of the van with the camera, smelled smoke and managed to get out in time. The van was completely destroyed.
Go Safe is required to provide 6,000 hours of enforcement per month and the system costs €16m a year to run.
All vans are operated by Go Safe staff, who process all data on speeding motorists before providing it to gardai.
The vans work in 750 high-risk sites across the country with a history of collisions.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Articles Menu
Find Info
Latest Comments
Member Login
