This bank holiday weekend’s already seen five motorists across Carlow and Kilkenny arrested for driving under the influence.
Since Friday night, one drug-driver has been caught in Carlow along with four drink-drivers in Kilkenny.
It’s as Gardaí are out in force across both counties as part of their Operation Lifesaver campaign for the Easter weekend.
Paul Donohoe, Roads Policing Inspector for the local division, says they’ve clocked a multitude of offences so far.
“We’ve carried out 63 checkpoints since the start of the campaign at midnight on Friday. To date, five people have been arrested for drink or drug driving. We’ve had three arrested for drink driving in Kilkenny, and one in the Thomastown area for drink driving too, and one for drug driving in Carlow since the start of the campaign” he shared with KCLR News. “We’ve also had 30 speed detections, five people holding their mobile phones while driving, and five people not wearing a seatbelt. They’re all life-saver offences and they’re the offences we’re trying to detect and get people to stop.”
Inspector Donohoe is urging local drivers to take greater caution, and warns they’ll be continuing their campaign tomorrow, on Bank Holiday Monday;
“As part of the Operation Lifesaver campaign, our Roads Policing Unit has been busy. We’re still asking motorists in Kilkenny and Carlow to reduce their speeds and, most importantly, to never ever drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”