Roads policing operation begins tomorrow

GARDAÍ have appealed to motorists to slow down and take care while driving this August bank holiday weekend ahead of a nationwide roads policing operation which begins tomorrow.

The operation, which runs until Tuesday morning, will focus particularly on catching drivers who are speeding, holding a mobile phone, as well as drink and drug-driving.

Between 1 January and 30 June this year, over 119,000 fixed charge notices for speeding have been issued.

Last year saw the highest number of road deaths in Ireland in a decade and, so far in 2026, 105 people have died on Irish roads, which is an increase of 13 on the same period last year.

A quarter of all road fatalities up to 26 July were people between the ages of 16 and 25 years, according to figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

In a statement, roads policing and community engagement assistant commissioner Denis Ferry said the current level of fatalities on Irish roads is “very concerning.” “Each fatality is not just a number; it is a person with a family, friends, colleagues and a community. These rising fatalities are symptomatic of a bigger and very worrying concern around road safety in general,” assistant commissioner Ferry said.

"We are repeatedly seeing high levels of detections and enforcement activity by our members due to sustained non-compliance with road traffic laws by road users. Road safety needs to be a priority for everyone," he added.