More than 100 people have been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving offences since the launch of the PSNI’s festive road safety campaign just under three weeks ago, police have confirmed.
Already this year, 64 people have lost their lives as a result of road traffic collisions.
Over the weekend, there were a number of fatal incidents on NI’s roads.
On Friday evening, Edmund Hughes, from Dungannon, died after being hit by a vehicle in the town’s John Street area. The same evening, a man, in his 70s, died following a crash between a Porsche Cayenne and a lorry in Ballynure, Co Antrim.
A further death occurred on Monday morning following a collision in the Moylagh Road area of Beragh, Co Tyrone.
Police in Armagh were also forced to issue a further drink-driving warning following the arrest of a man following a crash on the Monaghan Road on Sunday evening.
Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson said 132 people had been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving offences within the first two weeks of December.
He has made a further plea for the public to do all they can to ensure there are no more deaths for the remainder of 2024.
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“I have to say I am horrified to say there have been two more fatalities over the weekend on our roads and another one confirmed this morning,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“That takes us to 64 this year to date. Those figures are horrific, but they are not just statistics. These are 64 families that are going to have a very different Christmas this year.
“I just want to appeal to people: if you continue to make decisions like those being made on our roads, if you continue to drive the way we are driving and if we continue to take risks the way all of us take risks from time to time, our collision investigation unit is going to have to deploy and investigate the fatalities happening on our roads.
“My appeal is very simple: no more fatalities this year.”
Mr Donaldson said the public should be mindful of complacency when it comes to road safety and try to shake the assumption that road deaths happen only to other people.
“I’d be pretty sure the three people who have died on our roads over the weekend thought it wasn’t going to happen to them. I’d be pretty sure the 64 who have died this year thought the same,” he said.
“I think the reason is that people just don’t understand that the risks are personal, and the slightest error on the road can lead to a fatality.
“I have been speaking for some time now about the fatal five and I think the message is very simple. If you drive like that and ignore the fatal five, you will have catastrophic consequences.
“But it’s not just about drink-driving, it’s careless driving, not wearing seatbelts, using a mobile phone — all the fatal five that we talk about.
“I make no apology that we will continue to police the roads. I make no apology as well that if we catch you and you are breaching what we call the fatal five, or breaching the law, we will present you to the courts.”