Gardai set to target speeding in tunnel.

Gardai are planning to target motorists speeding in the Dublin Port Tunnel.

The move comes after it emerged that more than half of drivers are using the tunnel to speed, but none are being prosecuted or hit with penalty points.

There is currently no speed enforcement regime in the tunnel because it is not safe to use radar guns.

There is also nowhere to safely pull in vehicles on the approach to the tunnel or in it.

cameras

It was possible to tell the average speed of the vehicles using cameras at entry and exit points. However, the cameras currently in place are not suitable for use in prosecutions.

Figures released by the National Roads Authority (NRA) to Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd show speeding is rampant in both bores of the tunnel.

Almost 45pc of motorists using the north-bound bore last November were clocked driving above the 80kph speed limit.

The statistics are even worse in the south-bound bore where 70pc of vehicles exceeded the speed limit in the same month.

The average speed of vehicles using the south bore was 85kph.

A small number of motorists were clocked driving in excess of 120kph in both bores, which are used by about 15,000 vehicles a day.

Legislating for average speed evidence formed part of the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2013-2020.

The Department of Transport has since received legal advice that no new laws would be needed to allow average speed evidence to be used in prosecutions.

The NRA said it was in talks with garda management to "develop a mechanism" for this.