There will be more Gardaí than ever policing Tipperary’s roads this Bank Holiday weekend as a result of the Garda Commissioner’s new Directive.
Drew Harris has ordered all Gardaí to spend at least half an hour on road safety duties every shift in and effort to curb the rising number of road deaths.
Local Gardaí are mounting their usual enforcement campaign for the May weekend with extra checkpoints and patrols.
But Inspector James White from Thurles Garda Station says the Commissioner’s new rule means extra bodies are being devoted to the effort this long weekend:
”Never, ever, ever drink and drive. Or drive while under the influence of drugs. We will be out there because of the Bank Holiday enforcement campaign, but also due to the Commissioner’s recent directive that every operational member has to be at least 30 minutes performing proactive road traffic enforcement visibility.
”So we’ll be out there. We will be intercepting people, but we also want to be at a deterrent to stop people from committing more traffic offenses and hopefully reducing collisions; serious injury collisions, and also fatalities over this weekend.
”It’s in effect of pretty much the last fortnight, and it means that every operational ember
in uniform is out there for a minimum of 30 minutes in their tour of duty. We work 12-hour shifts, so in that 12-hour shift, our members will be out there, both covertly and overtly.
”What I’m talking about is: you may see us in a physical checkpoint, you may drive into that checkpoint and be aware of where we’re at. But we’ll also be conducting speed checkpoints and you may not see us until you’re upon us, and if you have committed offenses you will be detected, will receive tickets, and you will be penalized and receive penalty points.”
