Yesterday's road deaths brings to 198 the number of people killed on the roads so far this year.
Despite the introduction of penalty points, the road death toll so far this year is just 20 fewer than the toll for 2002 as it stood on July 23rd last year.
The fall in deaths in road accidents following the introduction of penalty points to punish minor traffic offences has not continued in recent months.
The decrease in fatal accidents was the basis of a recent advertising campaign by the National Safety Council, which claimed that the new legislation had saved 59 lives so far.
This was based on comparisons between the death rate in the first five months after the penalty points system was introduced, and deaths in those months in the year before.
Since this statistic was produced, this year's mortality rate has risen sharply owing to an increase in fatal accidents in May and June.
In the first seven months of the penalty points system, almost 23,000 drivers incurred points on their licences, according to the Department of Transport.