Two people arrested every hour for drink or drug driving over St Patrick's bank holiday weekend

Ellen O'Donoghue

Two arrests every hour have been made for drink or drug driving since the beginning of the Garda St Patrick's bank holiday weekend road safety campaign.

The number of people arrested for drink or drug driving over the weekend has risen to 188, gardaí said.

The special roads policing operation continues until 7am on Wednesday.

Since the operation began five days ago, six people have died on Irish roads, bringing the total number of fatalities on Irish roads this year to 38.

So far, 4,250 drivers have been caught speeding.

Gardaí are conducting both statutory mandatory intoxicant testing and regular high-visibility policing checkpoints.

The notable speeds recorded on Monday include a motorist travelling at 121km/h in an 80 zone in Cootehill, Co Cavan, someone driving 85km/h in a 50km/h zone on the Boreenmanna Road in Cork, driving 98km/h in a 60km/r zone on the L3700 Cloongad, Riverstown, Sligo, and a motorist travelling at 125km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N55, Tullygullin, Kilcogy, Cavan.

Over 450 drivers have been detected holding a phone or not wearing a seatbelt since the operation began.

All drivers have been reminded to slow down, take extra care and give their driving their full attention.