Road users have been urged to be careful over the August bank holiday weekend, which is one of the most high-risk times of the year.
The warning comes after a male cyclist (32) was killed in a collision with a car shortly after 9pm on Monday. The crash occurred at Strawhall, Fermoy, Co Cork. Witnesses are asked to contact Fermoy Garda station on 025-82100.
A serious three-vehicle crash yesterday on the N6, on the Dublin side of Loughrea, led to only one lane being open to traffic. The collision badly affected the very heavy traffic headed to the Galway Races.
The Road Safety Authority has called on all road users to heed the message of Ursula Quinn, who lost her daughter in a road crash in 2002.
As part of a campaign to impress on drivers the importance of slower driving and the wearing of seat-belts, Ms Quinn last Thursday set out to walk the 240km (150 miles) from Lurgan, Co Armagh, to Ballybrittas, Co Laois, in about nine days.
It was at Ballybrittas that her daughter Shauna (19) was killed in a crash on September 21st, 2002.
"The campaign is to highlight the lifelong pain and suffering caused by this daily road carnage," Ms Quinn said. "Our aim is to raise funds which will be used to promote public awareness and also to help provide counselling for the bereaved.".
A spokesman for the Road Safety Authority said Ms Quinn was "just one of the countless number of mothers on this island who have lost a son or daughter in a road collision.
"Her message is simple: driving kills, so slow down, don't drink and drive and always wear a seat-belt."
A total of 240 people have died on the roads so far this year, 16 more than at the same point last year. This includes 40 pedestrians, 113 drivers, 61 passengers, 21 motorcyclists and five pedal cyclists.
It is estimated that eight times the number of road deaths - 1,920 people - may have been seriously injured on the roads over the same period.
The road authority will continue its "Arrive Alive" summer road safety campaign over in weekend, while Garda enforcement will again target drink drivers.
Details of Ms Quinn's campaign can be found on her website: www.drivingkills.ubi.ac.uk/