Young speeding drivers the main target of Garda safety campaign

Young people speeding in cars late at night this bank holiday weekend are to be especially targeted by the Garda's road safety campaign.

Last year six people were killed and 87 injured over the October bank holiday weekend. This year the National Safety Council (NSC) said it is hoping a renewed Garda safety campaign - in all divisions - with increased targets for detection, will reduce deaths.

The campaign, which runs until midnight on Monday, will also target drivers under the influence of drugs, those not wearing seat-belts and speeding.

The National Safety Council is particularly concerned at the number of vehicles that leave the roads late at night or early in the morning, frequently resulting in the deaths or serious injury of drivers and passengers under 30 years of age.

This year the number of those killed on the Republic's roads is rising after a steep fall following the introduction of penalty points in October 2002. Up to yesterday morning 301 people had been killed on the Republic's roads, 25 more than the same period last year.

Mr Brian Farrell of the NSC said increased Garda activity which was promised as part of the recently launched road-safety campaign represented "a quantum leap" in detection efforts.

Mr Farrell said research had shown that just four out of 10 back-seat passengers felt they needed to wear seat-belts. He described this as "an attitude that is incredibly selfish".

Mr Farrell said back-seat passengers felt there was an element of personal choice about wearing belts, but this was not the case. "These are the people who will be flung about in the event of an accident, and who will kill other passengers," he said.

For its part, the Garda has warned motorists that if they transgress, there is an increased likelihood that they will be caught and punished. While in the past enforcement was primarily a matter for each Garda division, the campaign is now being co-ordinated at national level.

According to the Garda, motorists should remember they are responsible not just for their own lives and those of their passengers, but also for the safety of other road-users.

The Automobile Association has also warned motorists to "take it easy" on the roads this weekend. Ms Emma Caulfield, of AA Roadwatch, said: "Major events such as the Cork Jazz Festival and the Dublin City Marathon will also add pressure to bank holiday volumes. Traffic will be very heavy on the main N8 approaching Cork from early Friday, while traffic in Cork city centre will be extremely congested for the weekend.

"Our advice is to avoid these peak times," she said, "and if you are taking to the road, to give yourself plenty of time for your journey."