Road safety initiative on Friday

An Garda Síochána are conducting a national speed enforcement operation 'Slow Down', supported by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and other stakeholders, for a 24-hour period on Friday until 7am on Saturday.

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

We advise drivers of the following:

· 24 - hour road safety speed initiative

· Adjust your speed to all the prevailing road, traffic and weather conditions

· Protect your community - Make the choice to abide by every speed limit to make the roads safer for all

In terms of road safety, 2018 was the lowest on record with 146 road deaths, however it is still 146 road deaths too many. We can never be complacent about road safety. Excessive and inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in road traffic collisions, further confirmed by the recent RSA report on fatal collisions between 2008 and 2012 which found that excessive speed was a contributory factor in almost one third of all fatal collisions during that time. The higher the speed, the greater the likelihood is of a collision happening and the more severe the outcome of that collision. As a general rule a 1% reduction in average speed will bring about a 4% reduction in fatal collisions, and this is why reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving road safety.