''Traffic Blues'' was a documentary series broadcast on
RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
. It followed various traffic officers from the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
.
The first series followed the
Garda Traffic Corps
The Garda National Roads Policing Bureau (GNRPB) ( ga, Póilínú Bóithre) is the roads policing unit of the Garda Síochána. Prior to 2018, it was known as the Garda Traffic Corps.
Duties and organisation
The main responsibility of the Gard ...
in a six-part series. The series was filmed over six months, putting the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
Metropolitan division based in
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin.
Until 1922 it was the se ...
, the
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
division taking in stations in
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
and
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
and the
Donegal Donegal may refer to:
County Donegal, Ireland
* County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster
* Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland
* Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
division focusing on
Burnfoot and
Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...
areas in the centre of attention.
It was similar in format to the British programmes ''
Traffic Cops
''Traffic Cops'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 5 (and formerly on BBC One) which follows Roads Policing Units from various UK police forces. It has consistently been one of the most watched factual series on UK televisi ...
'' or ''
Road Wars''. Six episodes were made for the series, which aired on Sundays at 20:30.
Series two
A second series of ''Traffic Blues'' returned on 3 July 2011 on RTÉ One. It featured numerous traffic offences such as a speeding Audi A4 on Dublin's
M50 and vehicle seizures on the Naas dual-carriageway. It also featured a drunk driver in County Cork as 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 21 June 2009, concerns were raised when members of the force had stopped a
school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
on the
M4 motorway. The bus had a broken
seat belt, there were unrestrained children and a worn tyre. Following the programme the National Parents Council, asked for supervisors to accompany children on buses.
See also
* ''
Garda ar Lár''
References
External links
''Traffic Blues''at
RTÉ.ie
RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)'s online activities, located at the URL https://www.rte.ie/. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely com ...
{{RTÉ Factual
2009 Irish television series debuts
Garda Síochána
Irish crime television series
Irish documentary television series
RTÉ original programming