Paul Murphy
The toll on the country’s roads over the Christmas period has just been revealed – 26 people lost their lives in the period from 1st December 2025 to 5th January. An Garda Siochana carried out a dedicated road traffic enforcement operation starting on 1st December. In addition to the fatalities there were 70 serious collisions which resulted in people receiving serious and life-threatening injuries.
10,000 checkpoints were set up in the 35 days and 765 people were arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants (56% primarily alcohol, and 44% primarily drugs). Almost 26,500 drivers were detected for speeding offences by a variety of means – An Garda Siochana, Mobile Safety Camera vans, and Static Safety Cameras by GoSafe. Almost 3,000 vehicles were seized, mainly for being uninsured and almost 1,700 were issued for using a mobile phone while driving and 450 for failure to wear a seat belt.
High speeds were noted in a number of areas – one driver was detected driving at 174km/h in a 120 zone on M1 Drogheda. 190 people lost their lives on the roads in 2025. Gardai have appealed for more sense on the roads. People should never drive under an intoxicant, should stay within speed limits, never become distracted and always wear a seatbelt.
