Over 1,400 drivers caught speeding during first 48 hours of Easter road safety operation

Eva Osborne

Over 1,400 drivers were detected speeding during the first 48 hours of a garda roads policing operation for the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Just under 170 people were detected holding a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt in the same timeframe.

The road safety operation kicked off at 7am on Thursday and will run until 7am on Tuesday.

Notable speeds detected on Friday include:

• 73 km/h in a 50km/hr zone on Macken Street, Dublin 2;
• 81 km/h in a 60km/hr zone on the N11 Stillorgan Road, Co Dublin;
• 115 km/h in an 80km/hr zone on the R733 Curraghmore, Co Wexford;
• 141 km/h in a 100km/hr zone on the N22 Killaha, Killarney, Co Kerry.

Throughout the weekend, gardaí are conducting both statutory Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) and regular, high-visibility policing checkpoints.

To date, a total of 66 people were arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (alcohol and drugs).

Gardaí and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) are urging all road users to support their efforts to keep them and all others on the roads safe this Easter weekend.

Gardaí are also urging road users to take extra caution around vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians and cyclists.