Today is the most dangerous day of the year on the State's roads.
Today has the highest level of vehicle crashes, and December is the month for the highest number of collisions involving drunken pedestrians.
New research by Hibernian Insurance recorded a total of 223 crashes on December 20th, 2006, a significant increase on the previous year when 167 crashes were recorded.
The research also found the week before Christmas has consistently shown an increase of up to 40 per cent in motor claims over other times of the year.