A Garda said he is "ruthless" in his role because he has told "far too many" families their loved ones have been killed in traffic accidents.
Roads Policing Unit Sergeant Tony Miniter said if motorists could see what he does on a daily basis they would understand what drives him to do his job "as effectively as possible".
He told The Irish Mirror: "The job of letting loved ones know that their son, daughter, mother or father has been killed falls on us.
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"It’s probably one of the toughest things we have to do, I’ve had to do it far too many times and I can remember every one of them.
"It’s really difficult. I tend to be ruthless in what I do and a lot of my colleagues tend to be ruthless but people don’t understand the reason for it.
"When you have to look someone straight in the eye and explain to them that their son or daughter has been killed in a road traffic accident, that does have an impact on you.
"That does drive me to make our roads as safe as possible."
Sgt Miniter of Henry Street Garda Station added: "People just see us out doing a checkpoint for speed, drug or drink-driving and don’t know the backstory behind it.
"Cars can be fixed, situations can be resolved but lives can never be brought back."
He added: "So when we are out patrolling our roads and doing high visibility checkpoints, and doing some covert work in unmarked vehicles, there’s one goal and that’s to make our roads safer for everyone.
"It’s not just catching people that are driving at speed, it’s to protect people - sometimes from themselves."
Sgt Miniter said he feels like he has an impossible job at times because many motorists don’t understand the consequences their actions can have.
He explained: "We have an impossible job because what we try and do with the public is connect the consequences of somebody’s actions to what can actually happen.
"It’s been said 1,000 times ... ‘I’m only on the phone or I know what I’m doing, or I’ve only had one or two pints’
"They don’t see the possible consequences, they think the worst that can happen is three penalty points and a fine - that’s the least of our worries.
"The worst thing that can happen is you kill somebody, seriously injure someone else, or seriously injure yourself. If somebody makes a mistake behind the wheel of a car and they’re left with the consequences that’s tragic.
"What’s even more tragic is when somebody makes a mistake behind the wheel and somebody else has to deal with the consequences.
"That’s a very, very tough pill to swallow. We see that and we see that on a far too regular basis. I’m ruthlessly trying to make these roads as safe as possible."
He added: "I just wish people would understand that it can happen to anybody at any time."
In Limerick, the Road Policing Unit uses a fleet of marked and unmarked vehicles to ensure motorists are following the rules of the road.
They have a camera that has Automatic Number Plate Recognition and can tell if a driver is uninsured, or has no tax or NCT.
In addition, officers can also log intelligence about certain vehicles and this information pops up if the offending car drives by.
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