The Christmas period is one of the busiest on Irish roads, and road users are at their highest risk of being involved in a fatal or serious road traffic collision, gardaí have said.
Gardaí are appealing to all those that will be taking to the roads over the Christmas period to slow down, drive within the speed limit and at an appropriate speed for the weather, traffic, and road conditions.
Motorists are urged to take extra care and time to complete their journey.
An Garda Síochána's road traffic enforcement operation throughout the Christmas period which began on Friday, November 29th, and will continue until Monday, January 6th.
To date, 170 people have lost their lives in road traffic collisions on Irish roads.
While this is 10 less deaths on Irish roads than the same period in 2023, gardaí said it is still far too high.
During the last weekend of the road safety operation before Christmas, Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd, there were two fatalities on Irish roads and eight serious collisions that resulted in a number of people receiving serious and life-threatening injuries.
Over the weekend, An Garda Síochána carried out nearly 1,000 checkpoints, both statutory Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) and regular high-visibility policing checkpoints.
101 people were arrested during this period for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (alcohol and drugs). This brings to 590 drivers the number arrested since the start of the Christmas Enforcement Campaign on November 29th.
Over 1,200 drivers were detected for speeding offences by An Garda Síochána and Mobile Safety Camera Vans by its Road Safety Partner, GoSafe.
The highest speeds detected in various speed zones were:
- 92km/h in a 50km/h zone on the R408, Rathcoffey, Co Kildare;
- 99km/h in a 60km/h zone on the R463, Parteen, Co Clare;
- 150km/h in a 80km/h zone on the R445, Castleconnell, Limerick;
- 160km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N60, Barnagreggaun, Co Mayo;
- 161km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M18, Gort, Co Galway.
