During the National Slow Down Day, over 750 drivers were revealed to have violated the speed limits, with one individual noted to be driving at more than twice the regulated speed in a Cork town. The enforcement campaign, initiated at 7 am on Friday, involved the Garda Síochána along with GoSafe detection vans, documenting a total of 755 speeding instances within the span of a day.
They monitored the speeds of 163,146 automobiles and found 225 drivers exceeding the speed limit. In contrast, gardaís, who were conspicuously scrutinising speeds across the nation, identified that 530 vehicles were defying designated speeds.
A driver in Charleville, County Cork was discovered to be driving at 112km/h in a 50km/h zone. Another noticeable incident occurred with a driver speeding 194km/h in a 100km/h marked zone on the N25 Loughaderry, Castlemartyr, also in Cork. Throw into the mix a Dublin driver whose speed was 37km/h over the allowed 50km/h limit on Swords Road.
Tragically, 63 lives were lost in Irish road accidents this year, marking a considerable increase of 14 from 2023. Among the casualties were 26 drivers, 19 passengers, 12 pedestrians, four motorcyclists and two cyclists.
According to a Garda spokesperson, they continually urge drivers to respect speed limits to minimise accidents related to over-speeding, lessen the injuries happening on our roads, and ultimately save lives.