Almost 500 people have already been caught speeding today as part of 'Operation Slow Down'.

The June Bank Holiday weekend is traditionally a very dangerous time on the roads and Gardai are warning motorists to slow down and drive within the speed limits.

During the first five and a half hours of the operation, 22,000 cars were checked.

Operation Slowdown U5 - In the first 5 hours and 30 minutes (07.00 to 12.30), over 22,000 vehicles checked - 485 detected. SLOWDOWN.

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) May 30, 2014

The highest speed detected so far was a car travelling 128 kilometres in a 100 kilometres zone on the N7.

Road death figures continue to rise, with 74 people killed so far this year. That is one more life lost compared to this time last year.

Brian Farrell is communications manager with the RSA. He says speed can be the difference between life and death in a crash.