Irish Examiner view: Slowing down to survive bank holidays

The number of drivers and pedestrians killed on Irish roads in the first quarter of this year is above average

Gardaí have noted an increase in the number of collisions occurring on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays — with about double the five-year average happening on Fridays this year.

One of the more depressing statistics of recent weeks was that during national “Slow Down” day on Ireland’s roads, gardaí still managed to clock more than 125 drivers breaking the law.

And these were not just minor transgressions involving an errant few kilometres per hour, but pedal-to-the-metal breaches at dangerous speeds.