Bank holiday road warning as speeding fines rise 17%

The number of motorists caught speeding so far this year is way up on last year, new Garda figures released in advance of the annual bank holiday clampdown show.

From January to the end of March this year, almost 45,000 fixed-charge notices were issued to speeders — almost 17% more than in the same period last year.

And the figures show there is no point in offenders claiming they were only going one or two kilometres over the limit, as 80% of speeding vehicles were clocked at between 10km and 30km too fast and more than one in 10 (11%) were doing speeds in excess of 30km above the limit.

Assistant Commissioner John Twomey of the Garda National Traffic Bureau said this group were a particular concern. “To date in 2014, we have detected drivers travelling at two and almost three times the posted speed limit,” said Assistant Commissioner Twomey.

“The damage caused in the event of a collision in these circumstances is immense, and most likely fatal. This high-risk behaviour will continue to be intensively targeted and needs to change.”

Zones where the speed limit is 50km were the worst for speeding offences — despite the fact they are usually in built-up or residential areas where the danger to children and other vulnerable road users is high.

Michael Rowland, director of research at the Road Safety Authority, described this finding as very worrying: “If hit by a car at 60km per hour, nine out of 10 pedestrians will die so what a driver thinks are small margins above the speed limit could be the difference between life and death for a vulnerable road user.”

The warnings came as gardaí and the Road Safety Authority made a joint appeal for motorists to take extra care over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Assistant Commissioner Twomey said: “Three people lost their lives over the Easter bank holiday in 2013. We can and must be safer on the roads and avoid this being replicated this bank holiday.”

Up to yesterday, 50 people had been killed on the roads this year, slightly lower than the same period last year but there were 190 road deaths last year which reversed annual declines since 2006.

Gardaí have said high visibility manned checkpoints will be in place in every Garda division over the the bank holiday period.