Minister suggests AI could help track dangerous driving and alert other motorists

Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety Sean Canney speaking to the media at Government Buildings, Dublin, after the meeting on road safety on Ireland's motorways. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to both track dangerous driving and alert other motorists across the road network, the junior transport minister has suggested.

Sean Canney said he is also confident that legislation to impose longer jail terms on people convicted of driving the wrong way down a motorway will be introduced by the end of the year.

Mr Canney said rolling out "all types of technology" was discussed during a meeting with gardaí, the Road Safety Authority, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) which was convened after a number of recent incidents involving youths driving down the wrong way down motorways.

Calls for tougher sentencing and more support for the gardaí have been made following a crash on the M9 which left five teenagers dead and three sisters and one of their children seriously injured.

Speaking after the meeting in Government Buildings, Mr Canney said: "I think there is an opportunity with AI and the camera technology which we have at the moment. The M50, for instance, is well covered with cameras and down in Cork on the orbital road to Cork, there is a lot of camera networks there.

"What we need to do is to continue, maybe with AI technology, to help us detect quicker what's going on."

He said that such technology could leave gardaí better placed to deal with incidents and could assist in sending out quicker alerts to warn other drivers.

Mr Canney asked TII to come back to him in four weeks’ time with information on pilots already being conducted using technology on our roads.

Longer sentences for driving on wrong side of motorway

Meanwhile, officials in the Department of Transport will be meeting counterparts in Justice next week to begin the process of drafting legislation to impose longer sentences for those convicted of driving on the wrong side of a motorway on purpose.

The attorney general will also be consulted on amendments to the Road Traffic Act.

"We will be hoping to bring forward legislation quickly if it is needed to make sure that we give protection to gardaí and also provide additional penalties for people who actually deliberately put other people's lives at risk," said Mr Canney.

"The message has to get out there: You cannot have this prevailing on our roads."

Taking aim at social media giant TikTok, which has refused to publicly appear before politicians to discuss videos of dangerous driving that have been uploaded to its platform, Mr Canney said: "TikTok have a moral obligation not to be condoning this type of activity. They need to stand up and say, 'We are for the common good. We need to stop this and we need to keep it off our off our site.'

"I think it's important that they look into themselves and decide is money everything? What is life worth?" he said.