Motorists advised to take extreme care on the roads today

Motorists are being urged to drive with extreme care today after Christmas saw a dozen fatalities on our roads.

Two children are among those who died in a variety of incidents across the country - the most recent crash was yesterday when a man in his 70's lost his life in Westmeath.

Investigations are continuing into all of the incidents and Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Brian Farrell of the Road Safety is urging you to slow down: “The first thing to bear in mind is if you are driving on wet roads it is going to mean you have to slow down, because it is going to take you longer to stop.

“If you do find yourself driving through some wet weather, check the breaks maybe by putting your foot on the pedal for a short distance just to dry the breaks out.

“But you have also got to consider things like the road being in a very fragile state after all the wet weather we have had recently.”