The entrance to the village of Kenagh, which is a 60kph zone before it moves to 50kph closer to the village.

Gardai to carry out 24-hour speed blitz tomorrow

This Friday, the guards will be out once more clamping down on motorists who are flooring it.

The national speed enforcement operation "Slow Down”, which is being supported by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and other stakeholders, runs for a 24 hour period from 7am on Friday, May 22 to 7am, Saturday, May 23.

According to the gardaí, the aim of "Slow Down Day” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, to increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive or inappropriate speed. The overall objective is to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.

Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary, Roads Policing Bureau said:- “During the current COVID-19 restrictions we have seen an increase in the number of vulnerable users on our roads. Excessive or inappropriate speed contributes to serious injuries and fatalities.

Despite reduced volumes of traffic on our roads the levels of speed has increased. Whilst the vast majority of drivers drive safely within the speed limits, and it is most welcome, there still remain those who continue to drive at excessive speeds. We will maintain our focus on non-compliant drivers as they pose a risk to themselves and other road users".

Mr. John Caulfield, Interim CEO, Road Safety Authority, said that even though traffic volumes have reduced, the need for drivers to slow down has never been greater.

Anyone out driving will probably encounter large numbers of people out walking, jogging and cycling within five kilometres of their homes. Vulnerable road users will probably need to social distance too when sharing the road. This means that drivers really need to be alert to their presence.

Care also needs to be taken by pedestrians, to ensure their safety, by using a footpath. Where there is none, they need to walk as near as possible to the right-hand side of the road facing oncoming traffic. But regardless of who is at fault, the speed at which the collision occurs determines the severity of that crash.

For example, if a pedestrian or cyclist is hit at 60km/h they only have a 10% chance of survival, but if hit at 30km/h they have a 90% chance of surviving. By slowing down a driver will have more time and space to react to any potential hazard on the road. It also increases the likelihood of surviving a crash."

The operation will consist of high visibility speed enforcement in 1322 speed enforcement zones.