You’ll notice extra garda presence on Carlow and Kilkenny roads as part of the latest National Slow Down Day.
It got underway at 7am this morning and runs for 24 hours to promote safer driving.
Already this year 63 people have died on Irish roads; three of them in Carlow, one in Kilkenny with two other local people dying in other counties.
It’s 14 more lives lost than this time last year.
Management and supervisors working in both public and private sector fleet operators are asked to please speak with their drivers about complying with speed restrictions.
While all Local Authorities and Government departments, businesses, schools and third level institutions are asked to please support this operation and help Gardaí to spread the message among staff and customers to slow down while driving.
Carlow Kilkenny Divisional Roads Policing Inspector Paul Donohoe’s been telling KCLR News; “We’re trying to bring these days in and bring them out to the listeners and to the public just to try raise awareness, we do a few days a year just to raise the awareness to try reduce down the number of fatalities and serious injuries we have on our roads so, I suppose, we have an extensive operation again with our roads policing members throughout the Division working where they’ll mainly concentrate on speeding detection so we’d just ask your listeners to slow down when you’re travelling, reduce your speed and drive within the speed limits of the areas you’re in”.
He adds; “Whatever the traffic and the weather conditions are, you know, just drive safely; maintain a safe distance from the vehicles in front of you and that’s what we’d ask people and we will be out doing speed detections all day so we’re asking people to slow down so that you don’t face prosecution and penalty points so just stay within the speed limits and hopefully we’ll have a day without any serious injuries or any fatalities on our roads”.