Over 150 people arrested for suspected driving under influence over bank holiday weekend

Ellen O'Donoghue

A total of 153 people were arrested for suspected driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs over the October bank holiday weekend.

Gardaí issued fines to 300 motorists for using a mobile phone while driving between Thursday morning and Tuesday, when their October bank holiday roads policing operation ended.

Over the course of the weekend, there was one fatality on Irish roads, while seven serious collisions resulted in eight people sustaining serious injuries.

Gardaí conducted 820 mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoints over the weekend, and more than 4,790 breath tests and around 215 oral fluid tests were carried out.

Additionally, more than 3,000 drivers were detected speeding throughout the weekend operation, which ran from 7am on Thursday until 7am on Tuesday.

One person was caught travelling at 174km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N24 in Limerick, while another was caught driving 127km'h in a 60km/h zone on the N15 at Stranorlar in Co Donegal.

Other notable speeds detected included someone driving 91km/h in a 50km/h zone in Santry, Co Dublin, and a person driving 134km/h in an 80km/h zone on the R148 in Broadford, Co Kildare.

Meanwhile, 87 vehicles were seized from unaccompanied learners, and 345 vehicles were seized for not having valid tax or insurance.

Fixed charge notices were issued to more than 140 unaccompanied learner drivers, and to more than 80 people for not wearing a seatbelt.