68 drivers found speeding in first five hours – The Irish Times

About 68 drivers, one of whom was driving 21mph over the speed limit in Co Roscommon, have been caught driving at excessive speeds within the first five hours of the crash. National slowdown day.

GoSafe vans checked the speeds of 37,777 vehicles between 7am and 12pm on Thursday morning, with higher figures expected throughout the day. gardaí will begin checking the roads until 7 a.m. Friday.

One driver was caught speeding 94km/h in a 60km/h zone in Co Roscommon, near Carrick-on-Shannon, while a driver in Cashelshanaghan in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, was caught speeding 113km/h /h in an 80 km/h zone.

Another was found doing 124 km/h in a 100 km/h zone in Gortatlea in Tralee, Co. Kerry, while a driver in Ballytruckle, Co Waterford, was caught doing 69 km/h, 19 km/h you are above the speed limit.

The 24-hour national speed enforcement operation aims to deter those seeking to drive at excessive or inappropriate speeds, improve overall compliance with speed limits and remind motorists of the dangers of speeding.

As seasonal weather sets in and shorter, darker evenings lie ahead, driving conditions will become more challenging, An Garda Síochána said.

“It is important to remember that no matter how good the road and weather conditions are, any increase in speed significantly increases the risk of a serious or fatal road accident.

“While the number of fatal road traffic accidents that have occurred so far this year is currently lower than in 2023, it is paramount that road users continue to support An Garda Síochána to maintain this trend,” the report said.

As of 9am on Thursday morning, around 147 people have been killed on Irish roads so far in 2024.

The majority of deaths so far in 2024 have been drivers (58), followed by passengers (31), pedestrians (27) and motorcyclists (17).

A further 10 were cyclists, three were e-scooter drivers or passengers and the remainder were pillion or someone else, according to Garda statistics.

In total, there has been a decrease of 17 road deaths compared to the same period in 2023.

However, recent data from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) shows a sharp increase in fatalities during peak hours between 6am and 9am this year.

As of mid-October, there were 19 deaths between 6am and 9am in 2024, compared to 11 in the same period in 2023 and five in 2022.

A separate RSA analysis found that a third (32%) of serious pedestrian injuries between 2019 and 2023 occurred between 4pm and 8pm, more than at any other time of day.

In the same period, 164 pedestrians were killed on Irish roads, while 1,426 were seriously injured.

As National Slow Down Day kicked off, gardaí appealed to motorists to stick to speed limits “to reduce the number of speed-related collisions, save lives and reduce the number of injuries on our roads.”