Eight dead and 20 seriously injured on roads over Christmas, gardaí say

Eva Osborne

There were eight fatalities on roads and 18 serious collisions which resulted in 20 people receiving serious and life-threatening injuries during the period Friday, December 20th, to Sunday, December 29th.

An Garda Síochána is conducting a dedicated road traffic enforcement operation throughout the Christmas period which began on Friday, November 29th, and will continue until Monday, January 6th, 2025.

Over this period, An Garda Síochána carried out over 2,500 checkpoints, both statutory Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) and regular, high-visibility policing checkpoints.

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

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

Over 550 vehicles were seized by gardaí for a range of offences under the Road Traffic Act, 1961.

Ahead of New Year's celebrations, gardaí have warned that it will be a busy period on Irish roads.

"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.

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

"An Garda Síochána is appealing to 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 your driving your full attention."