Over 600 drivers caught speeding in national Slow Down Day

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Galway Daily news Increase in use of speed cameras on roads

More than 600 people were caught speeding during the 24hr Slow Down Day national traffic operation.

In the day ending at 7am on Wednesday morning, GoSafd checked the speed of 173,811 vehicles nationwide, with 628 drivers caught speeding.

Notable examples in Galway include a vehicle caught doing 117km/h in a 50km/h zone on the N6 at Ballinfoile.

Another driver was detected doing 153km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M6 at Carnmore.

A third was caught doing 71km/h in a 50km/h zone on the N84 at Castlequarter, Cloonboo.

Mr. Sam Waide, CEO of the Road Safety Authority, said, “Excessive speed continues to be a leading contributory factor in fatal and serious injury collisions in Ireland and internationally.”

“It has been estimated that 30% of fatal collisions are the result of speeding or inappropriate speed.”

“Evidence shows that many drivers are choosing to speed in our towns, villages and on rural roads.”

The overall goal of the National Slow Down Day was to reduce the number of crashes on Irish roads after a particularly bad start to the year.

January saw the highest number of fatal collisions Ireland has experienced in the past decade, with 20 people killed in crashes.

Last year saw fatal and serious injury road traffic collisions increase with 156 people fatally injured, the largest death toll on our roads since 2016.

There have been a number of fatal traffic collisions in Galway so far this year, the most tragic of which saw three teenagers lose their lives when a car went into the water on the outskirts of Galway City.