ROAD TRAFFIC crashes have claimed two more lives over the weekend as memorial services were held in several parts of the country to commemorate the thousands killed or injured each year on the State's roads.
Two men died in separate crashes in Co Mayo and Co Wexford over the weekend.
Memorial services were held in Knock, Drogheda, Kildare and Carlow to mark a global UN remembrance day for road traffic victims.
A Mass was held at Knock Shrine, where 32 balloons were released as a mark of respect to those who have died in road crashes in counties across Ireland.
Road safety chief Gay Byrne said the day should be a reminder for road users of their vulnerability. "Every day, another person dies or is seriously injured on our roads. This can't go on," said Mr Byrne, who is chairman of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
A 19-year-old man died in a single-car crash in Bonniconnlon, Ballina, Co Mayo, in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The victim was the sole occupant of his car, which hit a tree shortly after 1am.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was taken to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar. The road remained closed yesterday pending examination by Garda investigators.
Shortly before 9pm on Saturday, a 20-year-old man died in another single-car crash in Newbawn, Co Wexford. The man was pronounced dead at the scene after his car hit a wall. His body was taken to Wexford General Hospital.
There were two passengers in the car. One was taken to Wexford General Hospital for treatment, while the other did not require medical attention.
The road was also closed pending Garda examination.
In Co Donegal, gardaí appealed for witnesses to a fatal collision in the early hours of August 4th last.
The crash between two cars at 3.40am in Magherabeg, Manorcunningham, on the N13 Letterkenny to Derry road, claimed the life of a 20-year-old man. Detectives want to talk to any lorry drivers that were in the Manorcunningham area on August 4th between 3.30am and 4am who may have seen a car driving erratically.
They are asked to contact the gardaí at Letterkenny on 074-9167100.
This weekend's fatal crashes bring this year's road death toll to 253. The toll so far represents a reduction of approximately 35 on the number of road deaths during the same period in 2007.
More than 3,200 people have been killed on roads in the Republic since January 1st, 2000.
The RSA marked UN remembrance day by distributing more than 300,000 road safety DVDs featuring instructional advertisements on the rules of the road, on topics such as keeping your distance, cornering, overtaking, right-hand turns, motorway driving and using a roundabout.
It plans to distribute over 300,000 reflective armbands to more vulnerable road users in the coming weeks.