Gardaí say over 7,000 vehicles have already been checked for speeding as part of a bank holiday weekend crackdown.

20 speeding offences were detected nationwide this morning as part of National Slow Down Day.

Checkpoints are in place across the country since 7 am this morning in an effort to reduce the number of road fatalities this October Bank Holiday weekend.

153 people have died in road traffic collisions so far this year.

For the past seven years there has been a year on year decrease in the number of road fatalities in Ireland. However, as of October 23rd there were 13 more deaths on our roads than at this time last year.

83% of fatalities in 2013 have either been a driver, passenger or motorcyclist, while 20% of all deaths have occurred on a Friday. The four hours between 2pm and 6pm represent a peak time, accounting for almost a third (28%) of all fatal road traffic collisions.

Almost 140,000 speeding fines have been handed down to motorists between January and September. The vast majority (80%) of speeders were driving between 10 and 29 km/h over the speed limit. 

While National Slow Down Day runs for just 24 hours, from today until November 3rd each Garda Division will carry out a series of targeted, high visibility checkpoints, each lasting one hour.

Chief Superintendent Michael O'Sullivan, from the Garda National Traffic Bureau, said they are trying to get motorists to modify their behaviour while driving.

"There are drivers out there sharing the road with you and I that have been intercepted travelling at speeds in excess of 200 km/h or in other cases three and even four times the posted limit. This is totally unacceptable in every sense.

"A 1% drop in the average speed can lead to a 4% reduction in the number of collisions."