Drivers caught speeding every four minutes during bank holiday policing operation

Almost 170 drivers have been arrested on suspicion of drink- and drug-driving since last Thursday, new garda figures have revealed.

Details of the bank holiday road policing operation included 63 detections in the 24 hours from 7am Sunday to Monday morning. 

The figures reveal at least one driver was arrested on suspicion of drink- and drug-driving every hour and someone was caught speeding every four minutes. 

Speaking during a garda checkpoint inspection in Arklow on Monday, Inspector Michelle Byrne, of the Divisional Road Policing Unit in Wexford and Wicklow, said the figures are of concern.

“Speed, drugs, and alcohol are a factor in the number of road accidents and road deaths. We are asking people to reduce their speed... we are here to tell people that they can’t get away with it.

“Driver behaviour really does need to be modified and we need to go back to where we were five or six years ago," she added.

Concerns have also been raised about the number of gardaí in the road policing division across the country.

Inspector Byrne said: “It is not just the gardaí’s responsibility. We are also asking drivers to police their own driving behaviours and our county councils have done fantastic jobs in relation to making our roads safer.

“Speed isn’t just what the road sign says, it is not a target, and I think that people are saying if I can go 100km per hour that is what I will go, but the conditions of the road may not be suitable for that."

One more death was reported on the country’s roads at the weekend, a teenage girl named locally as Molly Dempsey, aged 15, died after the car she was travelling in crashed in Co Wicklow. The incident occurred shortly before 5am on Sunday at Slaney Park, Baltinglass.

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A male friend in his teens who was driving the car was later arrested in relation to the crash. He was held on suspicion of committing an offence under road safety legislation and was later released. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The latest figures show that there were 631 gardaí in road policing up to March 31, but this includes officers who were either on suspension or on sick leave on that date. Figures provided in response to a parliamentary question showed that there were 723 in road policing in 2019.

In response to a parliamentary question seeking the figures, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “Forensic collision investigators and public service vehicle inspectors are not included in the figures. Those on sick leave or suspended are included.” 

She said there is currently a regional competition to recruit for road policing which will span the Eastern, North-Western and Southern regions. The completion date for the recruitment is the third quarter of this year.