The death of Garda Kevin Flatley on Sunday while conducting a speed checkpoint came at the end of a particularly tough period for the force on the nation’s roads.
In the early hours of the morning of May 2nd, a garda on duty in Ardee, Co Louth approached a suspicious-looking van that suddenly accelerated and hit him before leaving the scene.
The garda suffered broken bones and required surgery. A man was later arrested.
Earlier last week an on-duty garda was injured when he was hit by a car. Last Friday, another garda suffered a broken leg in Coolock, Co Dublin, when hit by a motorcycle. A suspect was arrested shortly afterwards.
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This spate of incidents culminated in the death of Garda Flatley (49) on Sunday afternoon when he was struck by a high-powered motorcycle while operating a speed gun at the side of the road near Lanestown, north Co Dublin.
The motorcycle travelled 300m after the collision and came to a stop on the other side of the road. The motorcyclist remains in a serious condition in Beaumont Hospital.
Speaking after Garda Flatley’s death, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the succession of road collisions was almost unbelievable.
“And this is a regular occurrence where we are enforcing legislation, road traffic laws, but also the criminal law, in respect of road users, and just the dangers our members are facing, my members are facing, is just extraordinary,” he said.
Being a member of the Garda is a dangerous job. Garda Flatley was the 90th member of the force to be killed on duty since its foundation just over a century ago.
Within the force, roads policing is probably the most dangerous specialist posting of them all. Last year, 70 gardaí were injured in road traffic collisions, the second most common injury category after assaults.
Just over 7,700 work days were lost due to injuries suffered in these incidents.
The Clare/Tipperary division suffered the most injuries, with 11 road collisions, followed by eight incidents in the west Dublin division, according to figures previously released under Freedom of Information and published on the Garda website.
In one sense, it should be no surprise gardaí suffer so many road-related injuries. Members often spend most of their shifts in their patrol cars driving between call-outs.
The recent creation of much larger Garda divisions has only increased driving times.
Garda management has also been ramping up road safety operations of the type Garda Flatley was conducting in response to rising road deaths.
Such operations involve standing beside busy roads with a speed gun and are inherently risky.
However, several safety measures are put in place. Road policing gardaí undergo Out of Vehicle Safety Training (OVST), while risk assessments are conducted before a checkpoint is established at a location. Gardaí ensure they are highly visible, including using flashing lights.
“You want to be seen. The end goal is to deter people from speeding,” said a roads policing garda.
The Garda’s newer speed guns also allow members to detect speeding at a greater distance, meaning they can stay further back from traffic.
However, gardaí often have to step closer to traffic to flag down motorists they have detected speeding.
As is standard, an incident review is to take place alongside the Garda investigation into Garda Flatley’s death. Among other things, it is likely to focus on the risk faced by gardaí conducting roadside speed checkpoints.
