Six killed in traffic accidents over weekend

Six people have died in traffic accidents since Friday, in spite of a high-profile presence by gardaí on the roads over the bank holiday weekend.

This weekend's toll of road deaths is twice last year's total, and follows the deaths of seven people in accidents on Thursday. The last victim of Thursday's carnage, a 54-year-old man involved in a crash in Killarney, died yesterday.

Operation Taisteal, which saw thousands of Garda checkpoints mounted on roads around the State, ended at midnight last night. A spokesman for the Garda press office said it was too early to judge its success.

Two men in their thirties from Northern Ireland were killed in a two-car crash near Lifford in Co Donegal yesterday afternoon. Three other people were injured in the crash at Castlefin. They were taken to Letterkenny hospital where one is said to be seriously hurt.

In Dublin, an 18-year-old woman died after the car in which she was travelling left the road and collided with an embankment. The accident happened near Leixlip on the main M4 at about 10 p.m. on Sunday. The other occupant of the car was not seriously injured.

Two men, a motorist and a motorcyclist, were killed in separate accidents on Saturday, and a second motorcyclist died in a collision with a car on Friday.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Eoin Ryan, has called for a new type of penalty points scheme for taxi-drivers to improve standards in the industry.

Mr Ryan, who is chairman of the Oireachtas transport committee, said the scheme would stamp out "unacceptable behaviour" by a small minority of drivers who are "tarnishing" the industry.

Research had shown that one woman in three no longer felt safe in a taxi, and only one man in four felt "very safe," he said.

"Everybody has a story about a rogue taxi-driver, which ranges from being overcharged to enduring smoke in the cab. This is totally unacceptable."