Gardai warn of festive checkpoint blitz

MORE than 60 Garda checkpoints per day will be carried out across the Western Region over the Christmas period.

An Garda Síochána has reminded drivers that there is a morning element to a percentage of those checkpoints, focusing on Intoxicated Driving.
As part of the annual campaign, the enforcement of all road traffic legislation will be increased and large urban towns will be given special attention on weekend nights.
Gardaí will be patrolling the road network over Christmas and the New Year, in both marked and unmarked vehicles, which will target driving while intoxicated, dangerous driving, distraction driving and speeding.
In particular, they warn drivers to be fully aware of the dangers of driving the morning after the night before. Twelve per cent of all drink driving arrests occur between 8am and 2pm and of those, almost a third happen on a Sunday.