WATCH: Limerick motorists urged to slow down this bank holiday weekend

Gardaí countywide are stressing the importance of careful driving to Limerick motorists this St Brigid's bank holiday weekend. 

Between 7am this Thursday and 7am next Tuesday, Gardaí will be thoroughly policing roads in Limerick and across the country.

As a new way of getting the message across, students at the University of Limerick joined the RSA and Gardaí in a collaborative project with the aim of reimagining road safety through contemporary marketing to develop solutions to positively affect young driver behaviour. 

Their ideas included; Comparing The Road To The Pitch, led by students Tara Holohan, 20, and Sarah Hogan, 19; and One High Can Lead To A Six-Foot Low, led by Gerard Hickey, 20, Clodagh Houlihan, 20, and Catriona Hogan, 20. Gardaí will soon promote these projects across all social media platforms to make young people aware of the dangers around driving. 

According to RSA research, in 2023 the highest risk age among road users aged 16-25 was years. This group represented 26% of total fatalities (48 fatalities), and the figures represented an overall increase of 23 road user fatalities compared to 2022.

At the launch, Chief Superintendent Derek Smart said: "The Garda Síochána are always looking for new and creative ways to encourage the public to drive safely. The work created by the students at the University of Limerick has a huge impact and we hope that young drivers are affected.

"The risk of fatal and serious injury is greater during bank holiday weekends. Never drive under the influence drink [or] drugs, drive at an appropriate speed, always wear your seat belt and don't use your mobile phone while driving."

Mrs Sarah O'Connor, director of partnerships and external affairs at the Road Safety Authority said: "It is nice and a relief to note that new and innovative road safety initiatives are being presented here today at a University Limerick.

"We know that the roads are very busy on bank holiday weekends and are a time of high risk for collisions. We ask all road users to take this into account.

"Driver distraction is thought to be involved accounting for 30% of all road collisions."