‘No garda wants to make that call’: Motorists urged to slow down ahead of Easter weekend
Arriving at a family's home to deliver devastatingly bad news is something no garda ever wants to do, said Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau. Picture: Keith Arkins
Going to a home to deliver the devastating news of a road death is something no garda ever wants to do, said the officer in charge of roads policing in Ireland as she issued a bank holiday road safety plea.
Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries, of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, spoke about one of the most difficult parts of the job as new figures show that almost a third of those killed on the roads so far this year were aged under 30.
And during the first quarter of each of the past six years, for passengers and pedestrians, the largest age group for fatal and seriously injured road users were those aged 20 or younger.
Chief Supt Humphries said it is clear that young people are still not heeding the various road safety messages or the rules of the road, as she insisted that Garda road policing operations are designed to save lives, not to make life difficult for motorists.
“No garda has ever or will ever take satisfaction in responding to a horrific road traffic collision that has caused serious injuries or death,” she said.
“Our work is aimed at avoiding all of those awful circumstances.
“This long Easter weekend there will be more road users out on the roads than usual, whether out walking, cycling or driving to go see loved ones.
“We urge you to please slow down, do not drive while under the influence, and please keep your focus on the road.”
New statistics from the gardaí show that in the first quarter of this year, one in three of those killed or seriously injured on Irish roads were aged under 30.
Half of those fatally injured on the roads were driving, with two thirds of all fatal collisions involving a single vehicle.
Gardaí have also noted an increase in the number of road traffic collisions occurring on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays — with about double the five-year average number of collisions happening on Fridays this year.
The number of drivers and pedestrians that have been killed on Irish roads in the first quarter of this year was above average when compared to the same period over the past five years. Chief Supt Humphries said:
“There is a sense among some that gardaí are out conducting roads policing duties to catch people, to make their lives difficult by adding penalty points to their licences and cost them money in fines.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to be on the move this bank holiday weekend.
Chief Supt Humphries said every garda on duty will be conducting road traffic enforcement activity at some stage.
In a statement, gardaí said anyone who is intending to socialise and consume alcohol at any point over the weekend needs to leave their car at home, or arrange a designated driver, or pre-book a taxi, or use public transport where possible, or get a lift home from someone they trust who will not be under the influence.
At no point is it safe or acceptable to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after having an intoxicant like alcohol or drugs, they said.
Walking home or cycling under the influence of alcohol or drugs can also put you and other road users at risk, they warned.
A nationwide roads policing operation gets under way at 7am yesterday and will run right across the weekend until 7am on Tuesday.
A total of 48 people have died on Irish roads since the start of the year.
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