A driver was fined for speeding every 3 and a half minutes last year.
Motors are being urged to take caution on the roads for National Slow-Down Day today, after more than 155,000 fines were issued in 2023.
Our Christmas and New Years Road Safety operation continues nationwide.
177 lives have now been lost on Irish roads this year, and we are urging motorists to drive safely and ensure no one else is killed or seriously injured.#SaferRoads pic.twitter.com/pisxsOyHGw— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) December 14, 2023
Thirty-seven people have died on the roads this year.
Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said speed limits are only a maximum and people should take into account the conditions they are driving in.
“[Drive] at a correct speed that’s appropriate for the road, for the weather conditions, for the traffic conditions,” he said.
“Speed limits are there as the maximum speed limit that can be driven on a particular road or at a particular time.
“It doesn’t necessarily say that it is the safe speed limit at that moment in time.”
Speed reduction saves lives
Superintendent Geraghty added that reducing your speed even by a small amount can have a significant impact on road safety.
“World Health Organisation statistics will show that even a reduction of 5 km/ph in average speed - and that’s not just people breaking the speed limit - can actually have a 30% decrease in the amount of road fatalities on our roads,” he said.
Last year, 184 people died on Irish roads - a figure 19% larger than in 2022.
Main image: A Garda taking to a driver. Picture by: David Creedon / Alamy Live News
