Over 1,000 drivers caught speeding on Irish roads over the weekend

The garda will now issue fines to more than 1,000 drivers who were caught speeding on Irish roads during the last several days.

Over the weekend, speeds of up to 170 km/h were recorded, but the majority of the vehicles inspected were travelling at the posted speed limit.

In total, 467 drivers were caught speeding on Saturday and 544 on Sunday, according to tweets from Garda.

This was out of the 116,000 cars and 96,000 trucks that were observed on Irish roads on Saturday and Sunday.

The top speeds recorded on Saturday ranged from 154 km/h in a 120 km/h limit zone in Co Kildare to 108 km/h in a 60 km/h zone in Co Cavan.

Yesterday, speeds varied from 131 km/h in a Co. Meath 80 km/h zone to 90 km/h in a Co. Offaly 50 km/h zone.

On this particular day, in a 100 km/h zone in County Cork, speeds peaked at 170 km/h.

In Co. Kildare, a driver was also arrested after being observed travelling at 164 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. When it was discovered that the driver was operating without insurance, the car was seized.

Drivers were advised by the Garda to use caution on the road throughout the long weekend.

Recently, it was announced that the fines for driving too fast, texting while driving, and not using a seatbelt would double.

Minister for State Hildegarde Naughton said the fine for speeding will rise from €80 to €160 and the fine for using a phone while driving or not wearing a seatbelt will also double from €60 to €120. 

Road Safety Authority Chairperson Liz O’Donnell said the current fines were not acting as a “sufficient deterrent”.

“What we were finding was that they weren’t sufficiently a deterrent and that at the 80 and 60 euro level, they weren’t acting sufficiently as a deterrent,” said O’Donnell

“They have to have to hurt people in the pocket to be meaningful.”

The RSA said that August 2021 had 22 fatalities, making it the worst month for road fatalities in a decade.

With 94 fatalities and 673 serious injuries so far in 2022, there has been a 42 percent increase in deaths.

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