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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Driver caught at 188km/h on M50 as thousands of fines issued over Bank Holiday weekend
A motorist was caught speeding at 188km/h in a 100km/h zone on the M50 at Templeogue in Dublin over the Bank Holiday weekend, as part of a nationwide garda road safety operation. The excessive speed was among nearly 3,000 speeding offences recorded between 7am on Thursday, May 29, and 7am on Tuesday, June 3, during an extensive roads policing operation targeting dangerous driving behaviour. Other notable speeding detections included: 99km/h in a 50km/h zone at Clones, Co Monaghan; 114km/h in a 60km/h zone at Dunboyne, Co Meath; 119km/h in an 80km/h zone at Broadford, Co Kildare. Throughout the operation, gardaí carried out more than 830 Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) checkpoints. These resulted in over 4,000 breath tests and around 270 oral fluid tests, leading to 167 arrests for suspected intoxicated driving. Tragically, there was one fatality reported across the weekend, while 14 serious collisions left 14 people with severe or life-threatening injuries. In addition to speeding, Gardaí issued fixed charge notices for a range of offences including: Over 210 for using mobile phones while driving; More than 215 for unaccompanied learner drivers; Over 70 for failure to wear seatbelts. A total of 99 vehicles were seized from unaccompanied learner permit holders, while 380 vehicles were taken off the road for lacking tax or insurance. Gardaí have renewed appeals for all motorists to slow down, never drive under the influence of drink or drugs, wear seatbelts, and remain focused while driving. Read More Only 60 of 4,800 dangerous driving reports to online Traffic Watch system result in a fine
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Only 60 of 4,800 dangerous driving reports to online Traffic Watch system result in a fine
Only a small percentage of the thousands of reports to the garda online Traffic Watch system result in fines being issued to drivers. The online Traffic Watch system has received 4,885 reports of dangerous driving in the first nine months of operation, but just 60 Fixed Charge Notices have been issued to drivers so far on the back of the reports. The online system, which allows members of the public to report dangerous driving, replaced the Traffic Watch phoneline which operated for 10 years. On the back of the 4,885 reports, 60 Fixed Charge Notices have been issued, of which 30 have resulted in the payment of a fine so far. The statistics were released to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide who said it raises concerns that such a small fraction of fines emanated from a large volume of incidents reported through the online system. "It would be important to know how resourced this system is to carry out its work, given the wider failure of successive governments to adequately staff the Gardaí," said Mr Quaide. Once received, the online reports are logged by garda staff at the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) who then forward the reports to the superintendent in the relevant area to progress. A member of An Garda Síochána is then appointed to investigate the complaint, contacting the person who submitted the report to ascertain what occurred, whether there were any other witnesses and to take a written statement. Photographs and videos of incidents cannot be uploaded as part of the initial complaint but can be handed over to the investigating garda. If it is believed an offence has been committed following the investigation, a file is submitted to the superintendent who will decide what, if any action, is to be taken. Traffic Watch has been hailed as a very important tool by Gardaí as it "empowers responsible road users to work with An Garda Síochána in enhancing road safety for all". "Traffic watch has been important over the years in providing an opportunity where responsible and safe road users can report aggressive and careless drivers," garda assistant commissioner Paula Hilman previously said. The system is designed to address inappropriate and dangerous driving behaviour that occurs on the roads but does not lead to an immediate emergency situation, such as illegal parking, tailgating, or use of a phone while driving. Reports made are not anonymous and complainants are required to provide contact details and can potentially be called to give evidence in court. Bank holiday weekend operation Meanwhile, gardaí were out on roads across the country as part of a bank holiday roads policing operation which saw 1,030 drivers caught speeding in the first two days. Among those were a driver in Midleton, Cork, who was detected doing 151km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N25; another in Belturbet, Cavan, driving at 143km/h in a 100km/h zone; and one driving at 103km/h in a 60km/h zone in Ballaghadereen, Roscommon. The first 48 hours of the operation also saw 54 people arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving while fines were also issued to drivers using their mobile phones and for seatbelt offences.
