200kph in a 100kph zone! 476 caught speeding in a single day

SOME 476 vehicles were caught speeding last Thursday, including a motorcycle travelling at 198kph in a 100kph zone, according to figures released by the gardaí.

The revelation comes as part of the Garda Christmas and New Year road safety campaign, which launched last month.

The motorcycle was spotted on the 100kph zone of the N5 in Drummindoo, Westport, Co. Mayo.

Other major offenders include a car going at 122kph in a 50kph zone in Mount Brown, near St James’s Hospital in Dublin, and another car travelling at 109kph in a 60kph zone in Dungarvan in Co. Waterford.

There was a total of 101,900 vehicles monitored by speed cameras across the country on Thursday. The gardaí said that they wanted to thank the vast majority of drivers who drive responsibly, adding that speeding is a major factor in road collisions.

The figures come on top of the 414 vehicles, out of 42,388 monitored, which were caught speeding during St Stephen’s Day. One of the most significant speeding detections was on the N7 at Palmerstown Demesne in Naas, where a vehicle was caught doing 124kph in a 60kph zone where there were road works. There have been four deaths on Irish roads since December 21. The latest of these was on St Stephen’s Day when a 62-year-old man died after being hit by a car in Aughnacliffe in Co. Longford. The driver of the vehicle, a woman in her 40s, was not injured in the collision.

On Wednesday, the Irish Daily Mail revealed that hundreds of drivers have avoided penalty points by making donations to the poor box even though the High Court ruled that it was barred under road traffic laws.

Meanwhile, ten people were arrested on suspicion of drink-driving on Christmas Day with a further 12 arrested between midnight and 9am on St Stephen’s Day morning.