Speeding offences increase this year

Speeding offences have been on the increase in 2014, with 45,000 fixed charged notices issued in the first three months of the year, according to the Garda, which is appealing for safe driving this Easter bank holiday weekend.

The new statistics show the rise in offences between January and March represents a 16 per cent increase on last year, with 50km/h zones the most common places in which motorists are caught driving over the limit.

Of the 44,773 offences recorded, some 91 per cent were travelling at 10km/h or more in excess of speed limits, while 11 per cent were found to be driving 30km/h or more faster.

Gardaí and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) have said the issue has contributed to many of the 14 fatalities and 34 serious injuries caused to people over the Easter weekend since 2009.

Ahead of an intensive campaign to target speeding this weekend, John Twomey, assistant commissioner at the Garda National Traffic Bureau, reminded drivers that three people were killed over this three-day period last year.

“We can and must be safer on the roads and avoid this being replicated this bank holiday, a time when many people will travel to various parts of the country,” he said.

“Excessive or inappropriate speed is a significant factor in road traffic collisions, so this week we are targeting those who fail to recognise this vital, life-saving fact.”

A high-visibility Garda presence on the roads is designed to “modify driver behaviour”, with both divisional and district personnel, as well as members of the dedicated traffic corps, tasked to reduce speed.

"While it is very disappointing to see so many drivers being detected for speeding offences, it really does hammer home the fact that the gardaí are out in force targeting this killer behaviour. We simply must understand that a car at any speed is a lethal weapon," said Road Safety Authority director of road safety research and driver education Michael Rowland.