Thousands fined on the roads in bank holiday weekend Garda operation

Speeding, phone use and not wearing seat belts all accounted for thousands of fines and worse over the weekend.

During this period, there was two fatalities on our roads, and 16 serious injury collisions. In the Donegal incident, a collision between a car and a 4x4 vehicle took place at about 2.45pm on Sunday at Fincashel, near Pettigo in south Co Donegal.

An Garda Síochána conducted a High Impact Day of Action under Operation Meacán in the Dublin Metropolitan Region today.https://t.co/ps27Es8KFB

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) August 4, 2026

The driver of the car, a man in his twenties, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the passenger, a woman in her twenties, was taken to University Hospital Letterkenny with serious injuries.

Earlier on Sunday, a motorcyclist in his forties died in hospital following a collision with a car at Ballyknockan, near Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow.

Over 5,050 drivers were detected for speeding during the operation over the weekend.

The busy weekend included music festival All Together Now and the Bray Airshow.

Lifesaver offence detections include:

• Intoxicated driving – 188
• Speeding – 5,054
• Using a mobile phone – 353
• Not wearing seatbelts – 104
  

Throughout the bank holiday weekend Roads Policing operation, Gardaí conducted both statutory Mandatory Intoxicant Testing and regular, high-visibility policing checkpoints.

Notable speeds detected yesterday, Tuesday, 4th August 2026, include:

• 88 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on the N60, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon
• 83 km/h in a 60 km/h zone on the N52, L2002, Abbeydorney, Co. Kerry
• 105 km/h in a 80 km/h zone on the N4, Lucan, Co. Dublin
• 128 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the N3, Carnaross, Co. Meath

During this operation, over 450 drivers were detected holding a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt.

An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to all road users to slow down and stick to the speed limit. Never drive under the influence of drink or drugs. Wear your seatbelt and don’t get distracted by mobile devices when you are driving.