Garda tech devices play big part in arrest of banned driver in Laois
Technology played a big part in the arrest of a banned driver in Laois in recent days.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems used in a Laois Garda Traffic Corps vehicle used with an app on garda phones to a banned driver being stopped and detained in the county on Friday, February 11.
Apart from finding out that the driver should not have been behind the wheel, the technology also led the gurads to confirming on the spot that the motorist had no insurance for the car that had not been passed safe to drive.
The Laois Offaly Garda Division issued a statement after the motorist was brought to a halt.
"Laois Roads Policing Unit on patrol in Borris-in-Ossory last night stopped this vehicle after an ANPR alert warning for no insurance or NCT. The driver's licence was checked on the Garda Mobility App and they were discovered to be disqualified from driving. Driver arrested and charged to appear before Portlaoise District Court," said the statment.
The Gardaí say ANPR uses optical character recognition technology to automatically read vehicle registration plates. The technology can read number plates at a rate of six per second on vehicles travelling up to 180km/h.
The Gardaí say ANPR systems also include a speed detection capability.
All Garda vehicles fitted with ANPR camera systems can identify vehicles as being stolen, untaxed, suspect, cited as connected with terrorist suspects, crime groups, drug trafficking, people trafficking and/or persistent offending.
Watch video below to learn more about the mobility app.