Two men have lost their lives on Irish roads this weekend. 

A man in his 20s died in a single vehicle crash in Mayo yesterday, while a motorcyclist was killed in a collision in Leitrim. 

Motorists are being warned not to take any chances, as the August Bank Holiday is one of the most risky times of the year. 

Gardaí are out in force after RSA figures revealed that 10% of all motorists admit drinking and driving in the past year.

Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid says young people in particular need to take note of the warning messages:

“The amount of young persons who are being detected for driving under the influence,” he said. “They are just not listening.”

“The majority of people do listen and do take heed on the road and never, ever drink and drive.

“However, there is a cohort out there who do not - and you can see by our figures that we are on average arresting 740 persons per month.”

“So there is huge garda activity out there and still people are taking chances.”

Designated driver

Meanwhile the Road Safety Authority has urged anyone going out for a few drinks this weekend to organise a designated driver – or plan how they will get home.

The RSA has backed a plan to introduce an automatic disqualification for drivers found to be over the legal alcohol limit.

RSA chief executive Moyagh Murdock has called for a zero-tolerance attitude to drink driving:

“[People] need to get used to the idea, ‘someone is going to have to drive tonight,’” she said.

“Or lets club together and say, ‘we will pay you to drive tonight’ – we have to get that message across.”

A total of 97 people have been killed on Irish roads so far this year.