Laois Gardai urged people to drive carefully this weekend after spike in drug driving recorded

Laois motorists can expect additional checkpoints and a heightened Garda presence on the roads this weekend. 

Ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend, Gardaí in Laois are urging motorists in Laois to take care on the roads and to never drive while intoxicated.

Laois Gardaí will be out and about conducting MIT(Mandatory Intoxicant Testing) checkpoints, speed checks and policing events this Bank Holiday weekend. 

Laois Offaly Roads Policing Garda Inspector Ralph Holmes said Roads Policing Gardaí said will be joined by regular Gardai over the course of the weekend to operate checkpoints, carry out speed checks and carry out policing operations to cover the Greenfields Festival in Ballykilcavan and the Dublin Louth match in O’Moore Park in Portlaoise on Saturday evening. 

Inspector Holmes said Fr Brown Avenue will be closed, as authorised by the local Garda Superintendent, to vehicular traffic from around 6pm until around 9.30pm on Saturday to facilitate pedestrian traffic attending the Dublin Louth match. He said there are no road closures associated with the Greenfields Festival. 

“The MIT checkpoints and speed checks, they will be carried out all over the county,” said Inspector Holmes. 

“If you choose to drink alcohol or take drugs and drive you are taking your life and other people’s lives in your hands and if you are stopped and breathalysed you will be punished,” said Inspector Holmes. 

He said there had been a 140% increase in the number of drug detections across the Laois Offaly Garda Division in the first three months of this year.  “We are out, we are using the drug wipe devices to test drivers,” he advised. 

Inspector Holmes urged people to drive carefully and to be considerate of other motorists. 

“Please use your seatbelt when you are in a car and don’t use your mobile phone while driving”, he added. 

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The May Bank Holiday Garda Roads Policing Operation is now underway and will continue until 7am on Tuesday, May 5.

Throughout this weekend's Roads Policing Operation, Gardaí are conducting both statutory Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) and regular, high-visibility policing checkpoints. Nationally, a total of 15 people were arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (alcohol and drugs).

 In excess of 580 drivers were detected for speeding offences during the first 24 hours of the operation.