GIVEN that the issue is largely to do with the men in the middle and how they apply — or not — the rules of the game, let’s start with a former All-Ireland referee.

The number of Cork motorists with penalty points on their driving licence dropped by 10% in 2018. Road Safety Authority figures show that 52,784 drivers living in Cork at the end of last year got penalty points on their licence in the previous 36 months.

The depleted Garda Traffic Corps has managed to hang on to only around 80 of the 150 extra personnel it was assigned in 2018, the Irish Examiner understands.

An order of new garda motorcycles has been ditched by management looking for ways of “freeing up” money to pay for a rebranding of the Traffic Corps in the wake of the breath-testing scandal.

The first batch of recruits to a heavily depleted traffic corps have been taken on as part of a five-year plan to bring its strength back to pre-austerity levels.

An Garda Síochána have urged social media users to “respect” others after a Twitter poll it ran was met with outrage.

The head the Road Safety Authority has called for the introduction of a system to verify Garda enforcement of road traffic legislation.

Separate traffic incidents involving trucks caused major disruption yesterday for commuters in Limerick and Cork.

Plans have been outlined for gardaí to get a mobile phone app to let them check a driver's details at the roadside.

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy has said the Garda Commissioner’s husband, Jim McGowan, had a role in handling text messages on the phones of Garda whistleblowers.

Gardaí have been set targets this year to cut crime, increase victim satisfaction, and improve public ratings, in the first such policing demands on the organisation.

Blue Monday dawned yesterday and bearing such a bleak moniker, I opted to transfer into another world reaching out to the galaxy.

ANYONE ready to argue that a person should be allowed to drive after one drink can expect something pretty close to an assault from those who want zero tolerance for drink driving. 

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

TRANSPORT Minister Shane Ross has acknowledged that a reduction in garda surveillance and checkpoints “probably is one of the reasons” why there has been an increase in road deaths this year.

THREE more people have died in traffic accidents — one a male pedestrian in Dublin and the others both young women who died after their car was in collision with a truck in Westmeath.

The Lord Mayor of Cork has pleaded with GAA fans to respect residents and to park responsibly around the city’s Páirc Uí Rinn stadium, which is hosting a major championship game tonight.

Drivers face an extra 355 new speed cameras on the roads, with a further 26 devices to be located in Dublin, 24 in Mayo, and 22 in Cork.

Josephine Feehily marked our cards from the outset.

The chair of the Road Safety Authority has called for greater resources for the Garda Traffic Corps.

A 32-year-old Dublin mother who was pepper-sprayed by gardaí when they seized her car and arrested her, has been awarded damages in the Circuit Civil Court for defamation and assault.

The chair of the Road Safety Authority has said she believes the use of mobile phones while driving is now “bordering on addiction”.

Expectations exceeded as 6,000 attend Cork City Primary Sports event

The Government has been accused of trying to make employers responsible for drink and drug testing drivers because under-resourced gardaí are struggling to do the job.

CHIEF Supt Aidan Reid of the Garda Traffic Corps oversaw a 24-hour anti-speeding campaign nationwide yesterday expressing his wish that not one motorist would be caught driving over the limit at checkpoints, the locations of which were posted on the Garda website.

An average of eight motorists a day were apprehended driving without insurance last year.

Fixed charge notices issued for speeding offences decline 9%

Call showed ‘close’ relationship between garda and Bailey witness

Wearing safety belts in cars

Some 1,100 motorists are being prosecuted every month for not wearing seat belts.

Liz O’Donnell, former deputy leader of the Progressive Democrats, has taken over from Gay Byrne as chairperson of the Road Safety Authority.

Road safety engineers have issued a stark warning about the risks of fitting second- hand tyres to cars following an increase in road fatalities.

The Oireachtas Committee on Justice is to ask the acting Garda Commissioner, Noirín O’Sullivan, if there is a need to set up a dedicated garda unit to patrol the country’s trains.

Now that Frances Fitzgerald appears to have settled comfortably into her role as minister for justice, perhaps she might show more enthusiasm than her predecessor for increasing the number of Garda patrols on our roads.

Mid-ranking gardaí have called for a review of road fatalities to establish if there is a connection between a rise in deaths and cuts in the Garda traffic corps.

Half of all fatal crashes in Cork this year have occurred within 50km/h speed limits, and gardaí believe the reason in many cases is drivers are failing to slow after coming off motorways.

Gardaí have said more than 7,000 vehicles have already been checked for speeding as part of the bank holiday weekend crackdown.

Legal authorities have played down fears that a recent court case, which saw a prosecution against a motorist who admitted smoking two joints of cannabis dismissed, could set a precedent for other drug drivers to evade conviction.

The number of roadside checkpoints mounted by gardaí has reached its highest level in many years over the summer, according to the latest Garda statistics.

There are reports of localised flooding on Dublin's northside.

The gardaí are urging motorists to stay safe and observe the rules of the road.

Penalty points for the most dangerous motoring offences — speeding, mobile phone use, and non-wearing of seat belts — are set to increase under legislation being introduced by the Government.

The Garda Traffic Corps has shrunk to its smallest level since 2006 amid growing public concern about the enforcement of road traffic legislation.

Ireland’s top traffic garda has insisted he has the manpower to fight dangerous driving on the country’s roads.