There was an intoxicated driver arrest made every hour over the May Bank Holiday weekend, according to An Garda Síochána.

They carried out more than 1,090 mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoints during their weekend operation, which began at 7am on May 2nd and finished at 7am May 7th.

During this time, they completed 5,349 drug and alcohol tests which led to the arrest of 196 people for driving under the influence.

There was one road death and nine serious crashes that resulted in ten people receiving serious and life-threatening injuries.

Some 71 people have been killed on roads so far in the year to date – 15 more than this time last year.

A Garda with a speed gun. Image: Stephen Barnes/Transport / Alamy Stock Photo

Over 900 drivers were also caught speeding using handheld detection technology, including one driver going 153km/h in a 100km zone on the N11 in Wicklow.

More than 220 people received fixed charge notices for using mobile phones while driving over the weekend - 100 people for having no seatbelt - and 170 fines were issued to unaccompanied learner drivers.

Intoxicated drivers

Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries said intoxicated driving will never be tolerated.

"There is only so many ways that we can say this and we won’t be polite about it – never, never, ever get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of drink or drugs,” she said.

"The financial penalty, the prospect of losing your license or criminal offence, and time in prison might not be enough of a deterrent to some but the potential of causing serious and/or fatal injuries to yourself as well as others should be enough to stop you.”

Some 613 vehicles were also seized for a range of road traffic offenses.

Main image: Traffic is stopped at a Garda checkpoint near Dublin Port, 02-2-21. Image: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie