Traffic Blues 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 :...

.

The first series follows the Garda Traffic Corps

Garda Traffic Corps

The Garda Traffic Corps is a unit of an Garda Síochána 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...

 in a six-part series. The series was filmed over six months, putting the Dublin Metropolitan division based in Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...

, the Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

 division taking in stations in Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

 and Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

 and the 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" ....

 division focusing on Burnfoot and 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...

 areas in the centre of attention.

It is similar in format to the British programmes Traffic Cops

Traffic Cops

Traffic Cops is a documentary series on BBC One which follows traffic officers from various British police forces. The current series follows Bedfordshire Police. Previous series have followed Cheshire, Hampshire, Humberside, South Wales, South Yorkshire and Sussex police forces...

 or Road Wars. Six episodes were made for the series, which aired on Sundays at 20:30.

Series Two

Series Two of Traffic Blues returned on the 3rd of July 2011 on RTE One. It featured numerous traffic offences such as a speeding Audi A4 on Dublin's M50

M50

M50 or M-50 may refer to:In transportation:* M-50 , a state highway in Michigan* M50 motorway , a motorway in England* M50 motorway , a motorway in Ireland* BMW M50, a 1989 automobile piston engine...

 and vehicle's seizures on the Naas dual-carriageway. It also featured a drink driver in County Cork at well as a high speed pursuit involving a Ford Mondeo. The main differences between Series One and Series Two are a change in music used and footage from Cork and the N7 in Kildare.

Reception

After the broadcast of the programme on June 21, 2009, concerns were raised when members of the force had stopped a school bus

School bus

A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

 on the M4 motorway. The bus had a broken seat belt

Seat belt

A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...

, there were unrestrained children and a worn tyre. Following the programme the National Parents Council, asked for supervisors to accompany children on buses.

External links

• Traffic Blues at RTÉ.ie
  Rte.ie
  RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of RTÉ's online activities, located at the URL http://rte.ie. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site, it says, is funded...