More than 100 motorists penalised for tailgating on M50
Four special operations combining road side Garda patrols and eflow technology has led to 106 motorists penalised for tailgating offences on the M50, it has been revealed.
The act of tailgating – motorists driving within inches of HGVs in an attempt to hide their licence plate number from overhead toll cameras – is a dangerous practice and is putting lives at risk, according to Simon McBeth, Director of Communications and Customer Relations at eflow.
"Tailgating is a reckless act that puts lives at risk for the sake of avoiding a €3 charge," he said.
"eflow takes road safety very seriously. We have held discussions on this issue with the Road Safety Authority and have signed up to the EU Road Safety Charter as we are determined to do what we can to promote safe driving on the M50.
"Tailgating is a particular offence that we can play a practical role in addressing, specifically on two fronts.
"Firstly, we have combined our technology with Garda roadside patrols to identify tailgating offenders. This has resulted in 106 offenders being caught.
"Secondly, we have now installed new cameras that capture the rear licence plate number of all vehicles. The combination of both front and rear cameras now means that there is no hiding place for tailgating offenders."
More than 100,000 vehicles use the M50 free-flow system every day, of which 75% have registered for a tolling account to avail of lower toll charges.
