MORE than 150 people were arrested across Ireland for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs over the bank holiday weekend.
A Garda roads policing operation was in place from 7am on Thursday, October, 23 until 7am on Tuesday, October 28 as the October bank holiday weekend was in full swing.
One person died on the roads in that period, while seven collisions saw eight people sustain serious injuries.
Over the course of the operation, officers conducted 820 mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoints, where more than 4,790 breath tests and approximately 215 oral fluid tests were carried out.
In total 153 arrests were made for suspected driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
More than 3,000 drivers were detected exceeding speed limits throughout the weekend. They included a driver doing 91km/h in a 50km/h zone in Santry, Co. Dublin and another doing 127km/h in a 60km/h zone in Stranorlar, Co Donegal.
In Broadford, Co. Kildare a driver was caught doing 134km/h in a 80km/h zone, while in Caherconlish, Co. Limerick a driver was detected doing 174km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Some 300 people were issued fixed charge notices for using their mobile phones while driving, 80 drivers were fined for not wearing their seatbelts and more than 140 learner drivers were fined for driving unaccompanied.
“An Garda Síochána continue to appeal to all road users to never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to slow down and to always choose a speed that is appropriate to the driving conditions, to wear your seatbelt and keep your eyes always on the road,” the police force said in a statement as they released the results of the operation.
See More: Bank Holiday, Garda, Roads
