Slow down on the roads.
An Garda Síochána will conduct an intensive national speed enforcement operation for a 24-hour period from 7am this Friday, May 26, until 7am on Saturday, May 27.
The objective is to reduce the number of speed-related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads. The aim of “Slow Down day” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive or inappropriate speed.
The operation will consist of high visibility speed enforcement in speed enforcement zones, which now number over 1000, as well as the delivery of a road safety message through the use of national, local and social media.
There was a marked increase in road deaths in 2016 as 188 people lost their lives, and Gardaí are keen to reverse this increasing trend through public awareness of the risks of speeding on the roads.
According to An Garda Síochána, as a general rule, a 1% reduction in average speed will bring about a 4% reduction in fatal collisions, and this is why reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving road safety.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn said: “We are appealing to the public to support our initiative to create an awareness of the dangers of excessive speed on Slow Down day. We are appealing to motorists to adhere to the posted speed limit, but also when conditions dictate, reduce your speed even further.
“We have been running this initiative since 2012 and every year thousands of drivers have supported it by not speeding, but there were still 927 detections last May. This represents 927 potential serious or even fatal speed-related collisions. This year we aim for there to be no detections, to achieve this we simply ask every driver to obey the posted speed limit.”
The following are some of the locations where speed enforcement is scheduled to be carried out from 7am Friday, May 26.
• R683 Ballymaclode, Waterford, Waterford
• N14 Drumnahoagh, Letterkenny, Donegal
• R700 Dangan, Thomastown, Kilkenny
• N18 Glenbrack, Gort, Galway
• R463 Gortatogher, Ardnacrusha, Clare
• R521 Grouselodge, Ardagh, Limerick
• N72 Fermoy, Fermoy, Cork
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