Motorist clocked speeding at 122km/h in 80km/h zone on National Slow Down Day

Gardaí clocked one driver zooming at 122km/h in an 80km/h zone on Friday as officers nationwide continue to monitor motorists around the country for National Slow Down Day.

An Garda Síochána have been conducting a 24-hour speed enforcement operation nationwide from 7am this morning in partnership with the Road Safety Authority.

In the first five hours of the final National Slow Down Day of 2024, GoSafe checked the speeds of 35,802 vehicles, and detected 75 vehicles travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit.

READ MORE: Garda checkpoints: Driver caught outrageously over speed limit after failing to heed warning

READ MORE: Gardaí 'gravely concerned' at speeding as motorist clocked at 196 km/h in Bank Holiday policing operation

Some examples of high speeds include:

67km/h in a 50km/h Zone on the R188 Drumbear Monaghan Monaghan 122km/h in a 80km/h Zone on the R680 Butlerstown North Waterford Waterford 136km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N18 Ballinacurra (Weston) Limerick Limerick

Gardaí thanked drivers for their compliance during the first five hours of 'National Slow Down Day', making Irish roads safer for all road users and appealed to drivers to comply with speed limits in order to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.

Chief Superintendent in the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, Jane Humphries said, "Thousands of you will begin making your journey home from Friday and while Gardaí will be out working to keep road users safe, we need your help. We need you to slow down and drive safely.

"National Slow Down Day is aimed at getting people to talk about and be more mindful of their driving behaviour and the risks that they may take when behind the wheel. No one sets out driving thinking that they won’t make it to their destination but there is every chance if you are speeding that you won’t. We need you to help us, help you to get home safely for Christmas."

Sam Waide, Chief Executive of the Road Safety Authority said, "It is clear speeding continues to play a significant role in fatal collisions on Irish roads. Self-report speeding behaviours and acceptability of speeding have been consistently high since 2020 and have yet to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.

"In addition, our most recent analysis of coronial data for driver deaths found that 26 per cent of drivers with a record of their actions available were exceeding a safe speed in the lead-up to the fatal crash."

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