‘TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LIVES ON ROADS’

Senior garda says reckless minority endangering everyone

A MOTORIST who failed a drug test was also driving without a licence, tax, insurance or NCT over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

And a senior garda said that was just one example of the type of behaviour on our roads happening on a daily basis.

Chief Supt Jane Humphries, of the National Roads Policing Bureau, was speaking after three more fatalities over the weekend brought the total of road deaths since January to 58.

She added: “People need to take responsibility that their lives and the lives of others are in their hands when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle.”

Throughout the holiday weekend an extensive Garda operation saw more than 5,000 roadside drug and alcohol tests conducted.

This led to 178 arrests for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. One in three of those detained were solely for drugs while more than 2,630 drivers were detected for speeding.

More than 220 were stopped for using their phones while driving and a further 77 were detected for not wearing seatbelts.

Chief Supt Humphries said: “Everybody was well aware there is an increased Garda presence on the roads over a Bank Holiday weekend.

“People have to learn responsibility on the roads starts

PLEA Chief Supt Jane Humphries with them. If they go out on the roads and are not legal or they’re driving under the influence or going too fast they will be caught.

“The majority of people on our roads are law-abiding citizens.

“They drive vehicles that are legal and roadworthy. But unfortunately there is a percentage of people who are willing to put you and me and others at risk by their poor behaviour.” When asked if she believes there needs to be a greater Garda presence on the roads, the Chief Supt said: “It is unrealistic to have a garda in every corner.

“That is unrealistic. People need to take responsibility for their own driving. They need to take responsibility that their life and the lives of others are simply in their hands.

“Every collision has its own set of causation factors so it is very difficult to say what causes cyclists’ deaths on our roads.

“But I would reiterate that this time of the year, with improved weather we are going to get a lot more cyclists so I would ask drivers to be more aware of that as well as cyclists.”