Gardaí are investigating a crash in Co Limerick yesterday in which a 64-year-old woman died.
She was killed when her Volkswagen car was in collision with a Nissan Terrano at Churchtown, Newcastle West at 5.45 pm.
She was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, where she later died.
It brings the number of people killed on the roads this year to 389. Hibernian Insurance warned drivers that its analysis of all motor claims since 2000 had revealed a 40 per cent rise in accidents in the week before Christmas.
Hibernian Insurance chief executive Dick O'Driscoll
Chief executive Dick O'Driscoll said that today, December 20th was statistically the most dangerous day of the year for motorists.
"It is actually a work day. It's one of the days before Christmas when people are trying to get a lot done. Maybe they're rushing around trying to pack in an unreasonable schedule on the day, combined with social events etc," he said.
According to the Hibernian report, 39 per cent of people killed in road crashes last year were aged between 17 and 24. Some 40 per cent of road deaths occurred at weekends. Wexford is the most dangerous county to drive in.
It accounts for 8 per cent of all fatal accidents despite only having 3per centof the population. Other counties with high accident rates include Meath, Kildare, Laois, Carlow, Tipperary and Monaghan. The safest counties are those with the biggest urban populations - Dublin and Cork.