AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA’S National Slow Down Day finished up at 7am this morning. 

Over the 24-hour period, gardaí and GoSafe checked a total of 195,768 vehicles. 

A total of 304 vehicles were detected travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit. 

One person was found to be driving far in excess of the speed limit on the N26 in Mayo, driving at a speed of 143km/h in a 100km/h zone. 

Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary of the Roads Policing Bureau thanked drivers who were “found to be compliant and drove within the speed limit”.

“[We] would encourage all drivers to drive safely, comply with and respect speed limits,” Cleary said. 

The gardaí released some “notable detections” of speeding over the 24-hour period:

• 87km/h in a 50km/h zone on the R118 Rock Road, Dublin
• 154km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N20 Kilmona Grenagh, Cork
• 115km/h in a 80km/h zone on the N55 Auburn Glasson, Westmeath
• 143km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N26 Ballynahaglish, Ballina, Mayo
• 70km/h in a 50km/h zone on the R556 Montanagay, Abbeydorney, Kerry
• 138km/h in a 100km/h zone on the R132 Mell, Killineer, Louth
• 94km/h in a 80km/h zone on the R403  Ovidstown, Clane, Kildare
• 115km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N25 Ballyadam, Carrigtwohill, Cork
• 137km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M1 Lusk, Dublin

Cleary thanked the Road Safety Authority and the organisations who were involved in and supported the campaign. 

“Drivers, please, think about the consequences of speeding the next time you get behind the wheel and reduce your speed accordingly,” he said. 

Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána’s Twitter account has been busying itself with many posts about the Spice Girls and its finest Queen puns. 

“Another one bites the dust! This scrambler was being ridden dangerously in a residential area of south Dublin until the rider was forced to abandon when intercepted by a passing motorcycle patrol,” gardaí tweeted. 

“It was later found to have been stolen last March.”