Police in Causeway Coast and Glens have had a busy Easter period, and we want to thank our partners for their help with keeping all those who visited the area safe.
Inspector O’Brien said: “An extensive safety operation was mounted on the North Coast this Easter weekend, and I would like to thank Causeway Coast and Glens Council, Translink and the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) for all their assistance.
"Of course, our colleagues in Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service have also gone above and beyond, as they do every day of the year.”
Discussing the bank holiday period, Inspector O’Brien said: “Over the course of the long weekend, there were three arrests for public order offences including disorderly behaviour, criminal damage and assault on police.
"There were seven Community Resolution Notices issued for drug offences. Officers carried out 25 Preliminary Breath Tests, which resulted in two arrests for those who made the foolish decision to attempt to drive when they were over the permitted alcohol limit.
“A vehicle safety operation was launched in conjunction with the DVA. Forty two vehicles were examined, with 22 drivers being issued with immediate prohibition notices. These are issued when a vehicle is not roadworthy and therefore not permitted to continue being driven on a public road.
"These 22 drivers had to make their own way home and are now facing prosecution in court.
"A further 16 fixed penalty tickets, some of which were also endorsed with penalty points, were issued for vehicles that were found to have lesser defects."
Inspector O'Brien continued: “Outside of the vehicle testing regime, a total of 126 fixed penalty notices were issued, for a range of motoring offences including excess speed, mobile phone use, excess noise and excess smoke.
“In addition, Safety Camera Vans deployed at locations across the North Coast made an astonishing 573 detections for excess speed. Speeding is one of the Fatal Five, the five main contributory reasons why people are dying on our roads. Of the fatal and serious collisions over the last year, speeding was the main causation factor in close to ten percent of cases, and a contributory factor in many other collisions.
“The policing operation we put in place at the local railway stations, in partnership with Translink, ensured that everyone got to and from Portrush safely. We are grateful for the support we got from staff at all stations and on board public transport.”
Inspector O’Brien concluded: “As always, we are very grateful for the support of residents, businesses and visitors during these peak times for our area. Policing with the community in the North Coast is all about working together to ensure that our towns are safe and vibrant areas for people to live, work and visit.”
For more information on #OpLifesaver, the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s new approach to speeding, please see https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/operation-lifesaver-slow-down-and-save-lives
You can also find out more on the Fatal Five reasons for serious collisions at https://www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/roads-and-driving/fatal-five