A high-profile Garda campaign to get motorists to curb their speed will be held this weekend.
Operation Slow Down will target driver behaviour and attempt to get road users to stick to appropriate speed limits.
From 7am on Friday, a 24-hour high visibility campaign will be held to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive speed.
A total of 96 people have been killed in road crashes so far this year, with 25 in June.
Another 97,000 drivers were detected for speeding offences.
Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said a speed limit is not a target.
“What we are dealing with here is people’s lives,” he said. “We are forever asking people to co-operate with us on a variety of issues, particularly around crime prevention and reduction. But road traffic accidents and reducing fatalities are just as important.”
Launching the operation with the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the commissioner warned gardaí will be using all available manpower and technology in their arsenal during the operation.
RSA chief executive Noel Brett said the death toll in June was catastrophic. “That level of carnage was not seen in almost two years,” he added. “I’m also concerned about the number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities which show a marked increase on this time last year.”
Statistics show Friday and Saturday are the most dangerous days on the road and July and August the peak time for crashes.
Gardai said a 1 per cent reduction in speed will also lead to a 4 per cent drop in fatal collisions, they added.
Gda Derek Cloughley, of the Road Safety Unit, said if a driver travelling at 100km/h slowed down to 90km/h it would add just six minutes to a journey. “What are you going to do in six minutes, make a cup of tea?” he asked. “But by reducing your speed by 10km/h, it significantly increases your road safety.”
PA