Gardaí ask Cork drivers to take care over new year

The new year is “one of the periods during which road users are at the highest risk of being involved in a fatal or serious road traffic collision”, An Garda Síochána has said. Gardaí are appealing for drivers to take extra care.

They have asked all those who will be taking to the roads over the new year period — and as people return to home and to work at the end of the week and early next week — to slow down, take extra care, and to give their driving their full attention.

To date, 178 people have lost their lives in traffic collisions on Irish roads.

“This new year period will be extremely busy on Irish roads,” a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said. “It will also be one of the periods during which road users are at the highest risk of being involved in a fatal or serious road-traffic collision.”

An Garda Síochána are conducting an ongoing, dedicated road traffic enforcement operation throughout the Christmas period.

The operation began on Friday, November 29, and will continue until Monday, January 6.

During the period from Friday, December 20, to Sunday, December 29, there were eight fatalities on our roads.

There were 18 serious collisions, which resulted in 20 people receiving serious and life-threatening injuries during this period.

As part of the operation, An Garda Síochána also carried out 2,500 checkpoints — both statutory mandatory intoxicant testing and high-visibility policing checkpoints.

Some 268 people were arrested during this period for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (alcohol and drugs), 74 over the weekend alone.

More than 3,750 drivers were detected for speeding offences by An Garda Síochána and mobile safety camera vans by their road safety partners, GoSafe.