With new figures showing more than 198,000 speeding offences were detected by Gardaí in 2007, parents concerned about young drivers are increasingly using a tracking and security device supplied and fitted by Dundalk-based Omniscout as a means of monitoring driving

Using the same powerful wireless technology as criminal justice agencies in north America, the Omniscout LT200 Portable allows parents to receive a text message on their own mobile phone immediately when the car involved has been driven in excess of a pre-agreed speed.

The device can also provide detailed information about the exact speed being driven, the location involved and whether the speeding was continuous or a once-off, possibly while overtaking.

An analysis of the 336 road fatalities during 2007 again indicates that those in the 16-30 years age group continue to be at high risk from road traffic related death with 71 people in their 20s killed.

During the year, males again accounted for the majority of deaths. Drivers and passengers accounted for 208 deaths between them while 82 pedestrians were killed.

Figures published in the Irish Examiner today (Feb 20) show that the vast majority of drivers apprehended for speeding offences were driving at 20 kilometres per hour or more above the speed limit at the location concerned. For instance, over 86 per cent of those caught speeding on roads with a 100 kilometres per hour limit were driving at speeds in excess of 120 kilometres per hour.

Excessive speed was a factor in almost 30% of road fatalities in the Republic of Ireland between 1996 and 2004. However, evidence shows that every time human error causes a road collision it is the speed of the vehicles which determines the outcome – whether someone lives or dies, or is maimed for life. This makes speed the biggest contributing factor to road deaths in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

The most over-represented group of drivers responsible for serious speeding collisions are males aged 17 to 34. In particular 17- to 24-year-old men are almost six times more likely to be responsible for fatal/serious injury collisions where excessive speed is cited as a contributory factor.

According to Graham Gibson, Sales & Marketing Director, Omniscout (Ireland) Ltd, “As we’re based in the Louth/Meath Garda Division, we’re acutely aware of the carnage on our roads and there were 31 people killed on the roads in this area last year alone. Parents are understandably very anxious about the driving of their young sons and daughters – especially in a context where young, inexperienced drivers continue to be hugely over-represented among road accident victims.

“While our core application is as a security device to protect mobile assets, a growing number of parents are now having devices fitted to cars being driven by their younger family members. Information generated in this way allows parents to intervene and warn their teenage children about their behaviour at the wheel – warnings that can also, of course, be backed up by withdrawal of the car.”

Based in the Science Services Centre at Finnabair Industrial Estate in Dundalk, Omniscout (Ireland) Ltd is an Irish-owned European partner of Worldscout Corporation, a Canadian company that designs, develops and manufactures the omniscout line of tracking and security systems for law enforcement, private security, fleet, automotive, motorcycle and other mobile asset markets.

The omniscout LT200 is a small, portable GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)/GPS (Global Positioning System) covert location and tracking system designed specifically for law enforcement applications and now available to Irish business customers and consumers.

The LT200 determines and reports with an accuracy of a few metres the global location of any mobile asset, vehicle or person in which or on whom the LT200 is located. The device is able to communicate its location and receive commands using international wireless networks used by most of the world’s mobile telecommunications companies.

The omniscout Portable is a self contained device that does not require additional or external GPS or cellular antennas. Weighing only 80g, it can be easily hidden in a number of locations in a vehicle or on a person.

·         Further information about the omniscout LT200 Portable is available at www.omniscout.ie or by calling 042-9351240.