Speeding detections increased by 37% in Tipperary in first 11 months of last year

The number of speeding offences detected in county Tipperary in the first 11 months of last year soared by a worrying 37% to over 16,600 compared to the same period in 2022, latest Garda crime figures show. s

Garda Chief Supt. Colm O’Sullivan criticised the continuing high number of motorists caught committing this and other driving offences that contribute to death and serious injury in traffic accidents in the county.

The Chief Superintendent, who led the Tipperary/Clare Garda Division up to last month, told the quarterly meeting of Tipperary Joint Policing Committee that 16,696 motorists were intercepted speeding by gardai or detected speeding by roadside vans in county Tipperary between January and December 1 last year.

A total of 12,182 motorists were detected driving over the speed limit in Tipperary during the same 11 months in 2022.
This represents a rise of more than 4,500 speeding offences.

He pointed to the high number of speeding detections on a section of the M7 motorway between Birdhill and Nenagh where an average speed camera operates.

He said every motorist caught speeding was putting other road users at risk and contributing to the number of deaths on the roads.

He also sharply criticised the high number of motorists caught on the county’s roads using a mobile phone while driving and driving without a seatbelt.

Chief Supt. O’Sullivan said he was worried by the 4% rise in the number of motorists detected driving while using a mobile phone in county Tipperary in the first 11 months of last year.

This translates to 596 driving while using a mobile phone detections compared to 575 over the same period in 2022.

“We all know that if you use a mobile phone that you have to be distracted and that contributes to collisions,” he explained.

The number of motorists caught driving without seat belts in the county over the same 11 months in 2023 dropped by 4% from 273 in the first 11 months of 2022 to 262 over the same period last year. But Chief Supt. O'Sullivan declared the number of these offenses was still way too high.

He insisted everybody should wear their seat belt when travelling in a vehicle as this measure was proven to significantly reduce your risk of serious injury and death in the event of an accident.