Limerick motorists and road users urged to think safety as Christmas crackdown gets underway

LIMERICK motorists are being urged to think when behind the wheel this Christmas while other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists are being encouraged to take measures to ensure their safety.

Thirteen people have died in 12 fatal collisions in the Limerick garda division since January – almost triple the number for all of 2021.

A major road safety campaign will begin this Thursday and will continue throughout the festive season.

“From December 1 our Christmas campaign will commence and our focus this year is on intoxication while driving (alcohol and drugs), on speed which is a huge problem for us still, mobile phone use and distraction while driving,” said Inspector Padraig Sutton, head of the Roads Policing Unit in Limerick.

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As part of the campaign, additional patrols will be mounted over the next few weeks and there will a large number of highly-visible checkpoints.

Insp Sutton says the key message to motorists and other road users is that every decision they make can have consequences.

“If you decide to text while you’re driving, if you decide to drink and drive, if you decide to do something there is a chance it will have a huge consequence – unfortunately, even the most careful driver in the world can be the victim of a fatal collision because somebody else decided not to be that careful,” he said.

Superintendent Aileen Magner, who has overall responsibility for roads policing in Limerick, says her appeal to road users is simple.

“I would appeal to people to think, Simply count to three and think. Do I need to send the text message? Do I need to increase my speed by 10km/h and I’m not going to get there any faster in reality with the traffic on our roads? Think do I need to take the chance and run across the road at this point? Am I going to go out and not wear a hi-viz jacket when I’m taking a walk? Please, just think and count to three and ask is it worth it?

From this Thursday, gardai will also rollout new roadside drug-testing kits which will reduce delays and make it easier to detect such offences.

“It’s a like a Covid test and it gives a very quick result for a number of drug types and then the driver, if arrested, is required to give a blood sample at the (garda) station to determine the levels,” said Insp Sutton.