19 people already arrested for 'intoxicated' driving as gardai warn drivers on Easter weekend

Garda checkpoint (file photo)

Gardaí have already arrested 19 people on suspicion of intoxicated driving in the first 24 hours of their Easter Bank Holiday road safety campaign.

The shocking figures were announced on Good Friday morning as officers pleaded with the public not to drink or drug drive – and to keep their head out of their phones while behind the wheel – warning that “lives are being destroyed.”

The warning comes as some 55 people have already been killed on our roads so far this year – a staggering 13 more than the same period last year.

Speaking to the media, Sergeant Gavin Coleman of the DMR Roads Policing Division spoke about the Easter Bank Holiday road safety enforcement campaign.

“We are specifically focusing on intoxicated driving, speeding, mobile phone use and distracted driving,” he said.

“Unfortunately this year#, we have seen 55 fatalities on our roads. We’ve also seen in the first 24 hours of this campaign, 19 drivers arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

“So that’s through drink or drugs. So our appeal over this weekend to drivers is to please don’t drink or use drugs while driving, slow down and stay within the speed limit and don’t let anything distract you while you’re driving, such as use of your mobile phones.

“We all have a responsibility to keep our roads safe.”

Sergeant Coleman also spoke about the lives that have been lost and how families are destroyed in the process.

“That’s not just 55 people. It’s 55 families,” Coleman added.

“That’s 55 people who had friends. It’s a ripple effect. Families’, friends’ and people’s lives are being destroyed by this.

“We can mention statistics as much as we want to but sometimes that gets lost. People just have to remember that it can happen to anybody.

“If people just take a second to think about those 55 people, those 55 people that won’t be having Easter dinner on Sunday with their families.

“They’re not statistics, they are real people,” he said.

And commenting directly on the Irish Mirror story that some 30 per cent of drivers that have died on Irish roads this year are under the age of 25, Sergeant Coleman said he was issuing a particular appeal to young people:

“In particular we would be appealing to younger drivers who may not have as much experience,” he said.

A shocking 47 people died between January 1 and March 22 alone – 30 per cent of whom were aged between 16 and 25.

They included Carlow pals Daryl Culbert, 21, Michael Kelly, 25, and Katie Graham, 19, and Tipperary crash victim Leah O’Meara, 15.

Speaking on Friday, Sergeant Coleman warned that any of us could become road crash victims because of any one “split-second decision”.

“It might be you one day. If you make that decision and you’re driving over the speed limit, or you’re driving contrary to the road conditions and you end up having a collision. It just takes that split second and you may not come home,” he said.

“So people need to think about that when they get in behind the wheel of a car.”

He also spoke about the fact that 13 more people have died on our roads so far this year than the same period last year.

“It’s unfortunately up 13 on this time last year. It is going obviously in the wrong direction this year,” he said.

“So again our message today is, if people are planning a night out, make sure you have a safe way to get home. If you are planning to drive, don’t drink, don’t use drugs, don’t get distracted by your mobile phones.”

In an appeal to pedestrians, Sergeant Coleman said people need to be visible on the roads and to walk on the opposite side of flowing traffic in order to be seen.

“When it comes to pedestrians there are little things you can do to make yourself safer,” he said.

“High-visibility clothing. Make yourself visible to a driver as soon as possible, walk on the footpath and if there’s no footpath available, make sure you walk on the opposite side of the road facing the traffic coming towards you so that you can see them and they can see you,” he said.

“They are very, very small steps but they do go a long way towards safety. It’s the same with cyclists, light up, have a light on the rear of your bike, make sure you’re wearing high-visibility clothing.”

Gardaí have also warned that Saturdays are the most dangerous day of the week when it comes to road collisions.

Commenting on that finding, Sergeant Coleman said: “It may be the case that it’s not a work day, people are travelling for social reasons and not commuting. You may be going somewhere that’s unfamiliar, maybe a little more relaxed because you’re not doing the same trip.

“Unfortunately it only takes a split second for accidents to happen. We need to get into the habit to leave that phone. As soon as you pick up that phone, you’re committing an offence and the possibility of you being in a collision rises dramatically,” he added.

“We’re just appealing to people to leave their phones alone when they’re driving, don’t get distracted by anything, concentrate on the task, don’t use drugs, don’t drink when you’re driving and be particularly careful with the morning after.”

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