Gardaí are warning dangerous drivers they “will be caught” as they move to increase enforcement on Irish roads.

So far this year, 97 people have died on the roads in Ireland - compared to 85 in the same period last year.

The figures include four people who have passed away  in three different accidents within the past 24 hours.

In April, Commissioner Drew Harris announced Gardaí would spend half an hour per shift on road policing in a bid to cut the number of fatalities.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Garda press officer Liam Geraghty said far too many dangerous drivers expect never to be caught. 

“The view out there sometimes is that An Garda Síochána are not enforcing but the reality is we are,” he said. 

“If you are taking the Road Traffic Act into your own hands and deciding to breach it, you will be caught by An Garda Síochána.”

File photo of Gardaí at a checkpoint, 9-4-20. Image: Barry Cronin/Alamy

Despite significant coverage about road safety issues in recent months, Superintendent Geraghty said significant numbers of drivers continue to flout the law. 

“We’re still arresting at least one driver every hour for driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol,” he said. 

“350 people are being issued with fixed charges notices for speeding every day.

“We’re seizing four cars every hour under Section 41 under the Road Traffic Act, primarily for offences of no insurance.”

A Garda checkpoint: Photo: Tom Douglas

Superintendent Geraghty described 2023 as a “very bad year” for road safety and said so far 2024 has “not been a good year” either. 

“The first quarter of 2024 was quite difficult when we had 59 fatalities compared to 42 in 2023,” he said. 

“The second quarter up to June showed some signs of improving the behaviour on the roads. 

“We were still at 35 fatalities unfortunately but that was down from 41 the previous year. 

“So, there are definitely signs that as a community and as a group of drivers that everybody can make an impact here in terms of reducing fatalities on our roads.”

Main image: A Garda checkpoint. Picture by: David Creedon / Alamy Live News