Garda Traffic Corps
Encyclopedia
The Garda Traffic Corps is a unit of an Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

 under Road Safety, Law Enforcement Branch.

The Traffic Corps' main area of responsibility is ensuring the free movement of traffic and enforcement of all aspects of traffic legislation. The Traffic Corps was established in 1925 and each Garda Division has a Traffic Corps of its own. In Dublin the main Traffic Corps is located at Dublin Castle. It is headed by a Chief Superintendent and under his command are 1 Superintendents, 9 Inspectors, 37 Sergeants, 227 Gardaí and 16 Civilian Support Staff.

The Traffic Corps is present across every county of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

; its three largest focus cities are Dublin City, Cork City and Limerick City. The Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...

 division in Donegal
Donegal
Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....

 also receives a lot of presence. Due to the close border in Derry there is a high chance of high speed chases, and the Garda work closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

 (PSNI) in order to combat border-driving.

The Garda Traffic Corps use a wide range of vehicles, ranging from motorcycles to patrol cars and 4x4 jeeps. The "marked" Traffic Corps vehicle are marked different from standard Garda cars in that they have the words "Garda Traffic Corps" and "Garda Cór Tráchta" on them. They are also "Battenberg Marked" this is a repeating square pattern of alternating blue and yellow high visibility squares.

At present the main Traffic Corps car is the Ford Mondeo, while the Toyta Landcruiser and Nissan Terrano are the main 4x4's. In the last three years the Traffic Corps bike fleet has been upgraded and now the standard bike is the Honda Deauville 700cc and the Yamaha FJR 1300cc taking the role of the advanced bike.

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) has being introduced into the Traffic Corps in since 2009. At present the majority of the Traffic Corps fleet is fitted with these systems.

Traffic Blues
Traffic Blues
Traffic Blues is a documentary series broadcast on RTÉ One. It follows various traffic officers from the Garda Síochána.The first series follows the Garda Traffic Corps in a six-part series...

is a documentary series broadcast on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

. It follows various traffic officers from the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

.

There are 116 vehicles in the DMR Traffic Corps fleet (18th February 2011) as follows:
  • 65 Motorcycles (22 Yamaha FJRs, 2 Pan European 1100, 41 Honda Deauvilles)
  • 28 Marked (overt) patrol cars
  • 10 Unmarked (covert) patrol cars
  • 12 Jeeps
  • 1 ' Robot' - Mobile Speed Detection Van
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