CLOSE TO 140 PEOPLE have been arrested so far this Bank Holiday Weekend for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. 

Gardaí said that between 7am Thursday morning and 7am this morning a total of 137 people were arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Liam Geraghty, Garda Press Office Superintendent, said gardaí had a “very, very busy operation” ongoing over the weekend.

Since midnight on Friday gardaí are required to test drivers involved in serious road traffic collisions for the presence of drugs in their system. It is already the case that gardaí have to carry out mandatory alcohol testing for motorists involved in similar collisions.

The current garda operation will continue until tomorrow morning at 7am.

Geraghty said that in addition to those arrested for driving under the influence, gardaí had also detected a number of incidents of speeding.

Geraghty said that gardaí had detected a motorcyclist in Wicklow driving at 146km/h in 80 km/h zone. A motorist was also caught travelling at 190 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the N4 Mullingar. 

“These sort of speeds are completely unacceptable on our roads,” Geraghty said.

“It is better to arrive home a little bit later and safely, than to not arrive home at all.

“We would also just appeal to people that, even within the speed limit, to slow their speed down and moderate their speed a little bit,” he said.

The main problem with speed is if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a road traffic collision, the higher the speed you’re travelling at, the greater the impact of that road traffic collision and the greater the possibility of death or serious injury.

A man died after he was struck by a car on the N18 in Co Clare early on Saturday morning. The incident occurred at around 4.15am in the northbound lanes of the dual-carriageway at junction 5 near Cratloe. The death brings to 80 the number of people killed on Irish roads this year.

A teenager is in a critical condition in hospital and four others were injured following a single vehicle crash in Mayo early this morning.