Garda vehicles involved in crash every day for five years

A GARDA vehicle has been involved in a crash every day over the past five years and members of the force were at least partly to blame for almost half of the 2,000 incidents recorded up to the end of last year.

Approximately 450 crashes involving patrol cars and other vehicles are recorded every year. Gardaí were held responsible for just over 1,000 of the crashes, wholly in 827 cases and partly in a further 226, according to figures released by garda management.

Garda headquarters claim the figures are not a cause for concern, given the nature of the emergency work members carry out and the fact that patrol cars are used 24 hours a day, resulting in greater mileage than ordinary cars.