A SIX day garda operation saw 73 people arrested for drug driving and 111 arrested for drink driving nationwide.

The detections were made through 930 Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) checkpoints carried out by Gardaí right across the country from 7am on Thursday, April 14, until 7am on Tuesday.

In the run up to the operation, An Garda Síochána along with the Road Safety Authority had launched a general appeal for road users to take greater care on the road over the Easter Bank Holiday.

The appeal followed a worrying increase in road deaths so far in 2022.

During the six day operation, there were 184 drink and drug detections.

An Garda Síochána figures for the full year for 2021 saw over 3,300 arrests for drug-driving.

Analysis by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) shows that cannabis and cocaine remain the most detected drugs in drivers on Irish roads.

In 2021, 57% of specimens tested for drugs contained cannabis, 31% contained cocaine and 14% were found to have benzodiazepines.

The number of arrests in 2022, up to March 31, was 768.

Other offences

During the operation, people were reprimanded for a number of other road offences throughout the six day operation including 61 seatbelts not being worn, 166 people using mobile phones and 1,810 individuals caught speeding.

There were two road traffic collisions which resulted in two fatalities over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and 10 serious injury road traffic collisions resulting in 13 persons injured.

Commenting on the operation, Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, Roads Policing and Community Engagement appealed to people to play their role in ensuring roads are safe.

“I want to sincerely thank the majority of road users who drove responsibly and did not put other road users at risk over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

“I again appeal to the minority who persist in disregarding public safety messages to remember the devastating effect that fatal and serious injury collisions have on our families and communities. I urge all motorists to play your part in ensuring our roads are safe for everyone.”