There has been a number of deaths on Irish roads in 2019.
An Garda Síochána have sent their condolences to the families of those who have died on Irish roads so far this year and have vowed to continue their efforts to improve road safety after a number of tragedies in recent weeks.
A significant number of people have died on Irish roads in the past seven days alone – including four young men in an accident in Donegal on Sunday – which prompted Gardaí to release a statement.
Speaking on Monday, Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy, Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, said: “An Garda Síochána is deeply saddened by the horrific death toll on Irish roads over the past week.
“I want to take this opportunity to send our condolences to all of those affected by these tragic events. An Garda Síochána views any road death as one too many and we will continue to work together with our partners in road safety to build on the reduction in road deaths evidenced over the past number of years.”
Murphy went on to talk about the actions that the Gardaí have undertaken in 2019 in an attempt to reduce the road incidents.
“To date in 2019, 634 drivers have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, three of whom were arrested for drug driving offences at one checkpoint in Cavan in the past week.
“An Garda Síochána will continue our programme of testing as many people as possible at Mandatory Intoxicant Checkpoints, Road Traffic collisions and where a Road Traffic offence is detected.
“We will also continue to work with our partners in ‘GoSafe’ to tackle the dangers associated with speed. The development of the safety camera zones has had an enormous impact on safety of our roads.
“This, combined with An Garda Síochána’s own speed enforcement activities, continues to form a key part of our strategy to reduce road deaths. To date in 2019, 2,920,553 motorists have been monitored by the Safety Camera network and while the majority of drivers have been compliant, 9,343 have been detected speeding.”
He also included a strong message to those who break the laws on the road, saying: “There is no place on our roads for people who do not comply with legislation, these people are putting not only their own lives at risk but also the lives of all other road users.”
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