Transport Minister Jerry Buttimer said all drivers must take “personal responsibility” for road safety in Ireland, as the number of road deaths continues to climb.
So far, 110 people have died on the Republic’s roads this year - 15 more than in the same period in 2025.
Over the bank holiday, Gardaí caught 169 people who were drunk or drug driving.
They also caught 4,400 speeding - with one individual in Westmeath driving at 151km/h in an 80km/h zone.
On The Claire Byrne Show, Minister Buttimer urged people to obey the law when they get behind the wheel of a car.
“What we've seen is an enhanced presence of speed cameras, fixed cameras, aggregated speed, speed vans and the visibility of Gardaí Síochána on our roads,” he said.
“One accident is one too many, but somewhere in the research that will be done on all of this weekend and other weekends, you will see that people have taken a decision themselves to drink, to drug take, to speed, to use a mobile phone, to not wear a seatbelt - that's a personal responsibility.”
The Cork South-Central acknowledged that the “trends are going the wrong way” with regards to road fatalities, but said reforms have been made.
“We are as a Government committed to reform of the RSA, to increasing the presence on the roads, but also to ensuring that that culture of speeding, drinking, drug taking, doesn't become part of our lexicon,” he said.
“We've changed with alcohol consumption; where we said before, ‘Just two will do’ - now it's zero tolerance.
“So again, we have to move back to that piece around zero tolerance on the roads as well.”
Minister Buttimer added that more Garda checkpoints and a more visible police presence would also enhance road safety.
“I accept that we need to see more in terms of visibility is a very important factor,” he said.
“But also by the same token, we have reduced speed limits, we have brought in more speed cameras, we have brought in fixed cameras, we have brought in aggregated speed zones.
“But I would make the point that there is an element of personal responsibility on what has now become a shared space on our roads.”
Main image: Gardaí at the scene of a crash. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.
