Gardaí are urging motorists to slow down and buckle up as the annual August bank holiday road safety campaign gets underway.
Alan Richardson, National Safety Council
The holiday weekends often see carnage on the roads; last year, the August bank holiday saw five people killed and 89 injured. To date, 219 people have died on Irish roads, three more than the same period last year.
The road safety campaign began at midnight last night and will run until midnight on August 1st. Gardaí will be targeting drink drivers at checkpoints and monitoring licensed premises.
Despite increased campaigns to combat drink driving on Irish roads, arrests for related offences increased by 872 - 16 per cent - in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2004.
"Even one drink will affect your driving ability as alcohol can impair the function of the brain," explained Alan Richardson of the National Safety Council. "At half the legal limit drivers are twice as likely to be involved in a collision and at the legal limit drivers are six times more likely to have a collision."
Motorists are asked to leave extra time for the journeys, and to heed their speed. AA Roadwatch is advising travellers to avoid peak times, such as early this evening, all day on Saturday and from mid-afternoon to early evening on Monday.
Aside from the regular bank holiday weekend congestion, motorists can look forward to increased traffic due to the Galway Races, which continue at Ballybrit Racecourse until Sunday. This will particularly affect main routes to Galway over the weekend, including the Dublin and Tuam roads.
In Dublin, the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Quarter Finals are being held at Croke Park, with Galway taking on Tipperary at 2pm and Kilkenny playing Limerick at 4pm. Drivers are warned to watch out for heavy traffic volumes on approach routes such as the N4, N6 and N7.
Also taking place this weekend is the Waterford Spraoí Festival, which will cause increased volumes of traffic in and approaching the city.