Kerry stays under the limit on slowdown day

MOTORISTS in Kerry slowed down and paid heed to Garda warnings on Friday as increased speed checks were carried out across the county as part of the national Slow Down Day road safety crackdown.

During the 24 hours of Operation Slow Down – jointly run by the Gardaí and GoSafe – authorities checked the speed of 140,223 vehicles on primary and secondary roads across the country.

The campaign saw extra checkpoints set up across the country encouraging drivers to reduce their speed.

In all 225 vehicles were detected travelling above the speed limit. The worst offender was in Donegal where a driver was caught driving at 177km/h in a 1ookm/h zone.

In Kerry the vast majority of motorists appeared to heed the garda warnings and they slowed down.

Only two significant incidents of speeding were recorded in Kerry during the 24 hour operation.

On the N72 at Shinnagh near Rathmore a driver was detected driving at 67 km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Another vehicle was recorded doing 71km/h in a 60km/h zone on the R523 at Bunagharha near Listowel.

Drivers were well behaved on the R551 at Dromgower, Ballheigue and the R561 at Kilinare near Firies with full compliance recorded by speed checkpoints at both locations.

“I would like to thank those road users who continue to drive safely and do not put themselves and other road users in danger” said Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau.