A driver caught doing 117km/h in a 50km/h zone is among the worst speeding drivers caught so far in today’s National Slow Down Day.
There have been 69 drivers caught speeding in the first two hours of Tuesday’s nationwide traffic operation, including the driver caught doing over twice the speed limit on the N6 at Ballinfoile.
The Slow Down Day operation, which will run until 7am on Wednesday morning, aims to act as a deterrent against speeding.
The overall goal is 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.
It has been estimated that 30% of fatal collisions are the result of speeding or inappropriate speed.
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.
Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries, Garda National Roads Policing Bureau said, “It is important to thank all of those drivers who do the right thing and drive not only within the necessary speed limits, but at speeds that are appropriate to the conditions.”
“However, each and every day across the country we continue to detect drivers travelling in excess of the speed limit.”
“We know that a reduction in average speed will bring about a reduction in fatal collisions, and therefore reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving road safety.”
“We have a collective responsibility for keeping each other safe on the road and I’d appeal to all road users to think about how their actions can have an impact on the lives of others.”
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.
