AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA are carrying out a dedicated traffic enforcement operation this October Bank Holiday weekend in Clare.
On Thursday, Gardaí commenced the traffic enforcement operation which continues until Tuesday (October 27th).
Bank holiday weekends tens to result in extra traffic on roads across Ireland and also tend to be among the periods where road users are at the highest risk of being involved in a fatal or serious road traffic collision.
Superintendent Susan O’Brien, Clare Community Engagement Functional Area has reminded all road users to ensure they are visible on roads this weekend. She said, “As the clocks go back an hour this Sunday, meaning less daylight hours, I would like to remind all road users to ensure they are visible. Pedestrians and cyclists should wear high-visibility clothing and ensure they are clearly visible in darker conditions”.
She added, “I am urging all road users to be mindful of and take extra care around vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians. Cyclists and pedestrians should stay visible and always observe their surroundings. This weekend may bring difficult weather conditions, please take this into account while planning your journey and to pay close attention to any warnings or advisories issued by our colleagues in the emergency services, the RSA and Clare County Council”.
Research conducted by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) from the period 2021 to 2025 shows that an average of 36 pedestrians are killed every year, and an average of 332 pedestrians are seriously injured each year. The highest number of pedestrian fatalities was among those aged 75 years or older; a quarter (25%) of the fatalities were in this age group. In contrast, seriously injured pedestrians tended to be younger with a third (33%) of pedestrian serious injuries aged 25 years or younger.
Two-thirds (68%) of all pedestrians killed were male, while just over half (55%) of seriously injured pedestrians were male.
Both fatalities and serious injuries to pedestrians increased consistently from autumn to winter. Between October and December, 38% of pedestrians were killed and 33% of pedestrians were seriously injured. One in five (22%) pedestrians killed, and one in seven (15%) pedestrians seriously injured, were recorded as crossing the road at the time of the collision.
Provisional data available to An Garda Síochána for 2026 supports the longer-term analysis by the Road Safety Authority. Fatal and serious-injury collisions involving pedestrians tend to occur primarily in urban areas.
29 pedestrians have been killed on Irish roads to date in 2026, 19% of all fatalities. Six (21%) of the pedestrian fatalities were aged 75 or older with 10 (34%) pedestrian fatalities aged under 25.
Between January and August 2026, there has been an increase in detections of all four ‘lifesaver offences’, compared to the same time last year.
There has been a fifty five percent increase in the number of speed detections, a seventeen percent increase in people detected using mobiles phones while driving, a nine percent increase in the number of people detected driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and a three percent increase in people detected not wearing seatbelts.
