Over 900 drivers caught speeding during National Slow Down Day
Garda Terence McSweeney and Garda Michael Bohane of the Cork Roads Policing Unit, mounting a checkpoint at Cork's Bloomfield Interchange. Picture: Donal O'Keeffe
Gardaí detected 689 drivers speeding in the 24 hours of National Slow Down Day, while a further 268 vehicles were detected speeding by GoSafe speeding cameras.
An initiative of An Garda Síochána, the day ran from 7am on Thursday until 7am today, and a total of 957 vehicles were detected speeding.
Examples of the high speeds detected by gardaí include:
- 112km/h in a 50km/h Zone on the Main Street, Charleville, Co Cork.
- 151km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N4 Clongawny, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
- 94km/h in a 60km/h zone on the N4 Drishoge, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co Roscommon.
- 110km/h in a 80km/h zone on the N4 Doddsborough, Lucan, Dublin.
- 126km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N7 Castlewarden South, Kill, Co Kildare.
- 84km/h in a 60km/h Zone on the N25 Lemybrien, Co Waterford.
- 112km/h in a 80km/h zone on the R430 Drumagh, Crettyyard, Co Laois
Some of the high speeds recorded by GoSafe cameras include:
- 113km/h in a 80km/h Zone on the R245 Cashelshanaghan Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
- 69km/h in a 50km/h Zone on the R708 Ballytruckle Green, Co Waterford.
- 124km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N22 Gortatlea, Tralee, Co Kerry.
- 70km/h in a 60km/h Zone on the N25 Grahormack Tagoat, Co Wexford.
Chief Superintendent Jane Humphreys of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau said the initiative had been a worthwhile exercise.
“Across all our speed detection systems in place around the county, we are beginning to see some positive indications that drivers are becoming more mindful of the critical need to slow down.
“That said, the number of those who were detected during this National Slow Down Day do show that there are some people still intent on driving at dangerously excessive and inappropriate speed,” she said.
“These are the people that gardaí are most focused on detecting in order to prevent fatal and serious road traffic collisions.” They Chief Supt Humphreys added that people who speed endanger not only themselves but will also potentially kill others while driving at high speed.
“Research strongly demonstrates that choosing to drive 10Km/h over the speed limit, thinking that it will get you to your destination in quicker time, is a fallacy.
“If anything, it can only save seconds from your journey so it really is not worth quite possibly losing your life over,” she said.
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