Dempsey urges caution on roads

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has warned thousands of motorists taking to the roads over the bank holiday weekend to take extra care.

Twenty-four people have died, and 64 have been seriously injured in August bank holiday crashes since 2002. Five people were killed on the roads over the same weekend last year and three the year before.

"I'm urging motorists to avoid taking any chances with innocent lives and to slow down, buckle up and never drink and drive," said Mr Dempsey in a statement.

"While the number of road deaths is down by 37 from the start of this year compared to the same period last year, people are still dying on our roads. One careless moment on the road and it could all be over. Don't take that chance."

Acting chief executive of the Road Safety Authority Declan Naughton also urged caution, saying drivers should always drive at an appropriate speed, should not tailgate, never drive while impaired by alcohol, drugs or tiredness, and wear a seatbelt.

Pedestrians were urged to walk on footpaths or on the right hand side of the road, facing traffic if there are no footpaths. They were also warned to wear bright clothing with reflective armbands and to avoid excessive drinking.

Gardaí said they would deploy "significant resources" to patrolling the roads over the weekend. Speeding will be the main focus of the forces operations. In the first half of this year there have been approximately 93,000 speeding detections.

A Garda statement said: "Already in excess of 4,500 detected drink driving incidents were recorded during the first quarter of the year, representing an increase of 27 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2006."

Gardaí also reminded motorists it is illegal to hold a mobile phone while driving. For the first half of this year gardaí issued 14,610 fixed charge notices for this offence.

The Health Service Executive's assistant national director for the ambulance service, Frank McClintock said; "Unfortunately, the August Bank Holiday Weekend is usually one of the Ambulance Services' busiest times."

"We receive an increased volume of call-outs and there is a higher demand for our services."

He urged all road users to take extra care over this weekend and to make allowances for the increased level of traffic on the roads in order to reduce the need for our services.

A total of 201 lives have been lost on Irish roads so far in 2007, compared to 238 to the same date in 2006. The introduction of mandatory random alcohol breath testing has been credited with the reduction.