A new unmarked Garda patrol lorry is being launched today, in a bid to catch bad behaviour on the roads.
Operation Iompar involves Gardaí using a truck fitted with blue lights to spot motorists and HGV drivers using their phones or not wearing seatbelts.
An unmarked patrol car follows them and then pulls in the offending vehicle.
The Gardaí are now using a lorry to catch bad behaviour on the roads.
In the space of 40 minutes yesterday, two people were given fines for not wearing seatbelts on the N4 and N7 in Dublin.
“Operation Iompar” has so far caught more than 100 people breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/Bk9Bk3eLVn
— Alex Rowley (@AlexRowley04) September 17, 2024
Sergeant Robert Griffin from Dublin Castle's Roads Policing Unit explains how it works;
"There's two garda members sitting in the truck, one driving and one what we call the observer.
So the idea is that the observer will spot a motorist we'll say on the mobile phone, he will then radio back to me, he will give a description of the vehicle, the reg number and tell me either he's got the phone up to his right ear, left ear or he's texting."
So far this year, Gardaí have detected over 15,000 people using their phone while driving. That’s almost 2,000 more than during the same period in 2023.
