Fridays likeliest for Cork motorists to commit traffic offences

Motorists in Cork are most likely to commit traffic offences on a Friday, a three-month experiment by transport authorities found.

More than 7,600 traffic violations were recorded on a Cork city bus route overall during the three months, leading to renewed calls for permanent bus-mounted cameras.

The trial, undertaken by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, was operated on two buses along the 220 Ballincollig-Douglas-Carrigaline route between August and November in 2024.

According to a recent report on the trial, compiled by HaydenAI, some 7,610 violations were captured by the cameras, including 2,583 instances of illegal parking at bus stops; 1,779 instances of the use of bus lanes by non-permitted vehicles; and 3,248 double yellow line parking.

The report shows that violations were highest on weekdays, especially Fridays, between 8am and 6pm.

Each round trip on the 220 lost approximately 27 minutes, calculated measuring the difference between the actual time taken to travel a street segment and the time it would take under the lightest traffic conditions.

Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan and chair of the council’s transport committee, said Cork “cannot keep waiting while dangerous driving goes unchecked and lives are put at risk”.

“The rollout of automatic camera detection across our city and county must happen now,” said Mr Horgan.

“Automatic camera detection works; they act as a constant deterrent, support gardaí, and free up resources for frontline policing.

“This is not about penalising ordinary drivers, it is about stopping dangerous behaviour before someone is killed. 

"Technology gives us the ability to enforce the law 24/7, there is no excuse for failing to use it. Other cities have moved on [but] Cork is being left behind."