Speeding driver in Laois under spotlight on Slow Down Day

Laois features in the Garda list of speeding drivers nabbed on Slow Down Day.

National Slow Down Day runs from 7am on Monday, September 4 to 7am on Tuesday, September 5. In the first 10 hours of GoSafe checked the speed of 103,607 vehicles and detected 250 vehicles travelling in excess of the speed limit.

With the Government announcing that more speed cameras are set to be deployed, among those in the spotlight on Slow Down Day was a motorist who drover through Laois who was clocked driving at 142km/h in a 120km/h zone on the M7 at Meelick, Portlaoise.

Examples of high speeds elsewhere include:

• 73km/h in a 50km/h Zone on the Church Street Ballinasloe Galway

• 99km/h in a 60km/h Zone on the R267 Magheracar Bundoran Donegal

• 121km/h in a 80km/h Zone on the N2 Drumcaw Monaghan Monaghan

• 161km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N53 Philipstown Dundalk Louth

• 155km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M6 Killavally Tyrrellspass Westmeath

• 134km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N11 Timmore Newcastle Wicklow

• 130km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N21 Dooneen Castleisland Kerry

• 142km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M7 Meelick Portlaoise Laois

• 141km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M6 An Carn Mór Thiar Órán Mór Gaillimh

• 151km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M8 Ballinglanna North Kilworth Cork

• 115km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N17 Lisduff Claremorris Mayo

• 138km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M4 Kilmore Enfield Kildare

• 135km/h in a 120km/h Zone on the M1 Lusk Dublin

• 108km/h in a 80km/h Zone on the R513 Herbertstown Herbertstown Limerick

• 129km/h in a 100km/h Zone on the N4 Clongawny Mullingar Westmeath

Gardaí appealed to drivers to comply with speed limits in order to reduce the number of speed-related crashes. They say this will save lives and reduce injuries on roads.

On the same day as Slow Down, it was announced that the use of speed cameras on Irish roads is to increase by 20% in response to “worrying trends” around increasing road fatalities.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said an additional €1.2 million is to be allocated for GoSafe vans, providing for an extra 1,500 hours of monitoring per month until the end of this year.