‘Name and shame’ to curb drink driving
Transport Minister Shane Ross also revealed yesterday there had been surge in the numbers detected and stopped for suspected drink-driving over the Christmas period.
Fresh legislation and increased Garda numbers to stop the resurgent drink-driving activity will now be considered, the Independent Alliance Minister confirmed.
Reiterating comments he made in an interview with the Irish Examiner this week, Mr Ross said the increase in road fatalities last year was “completely and utterly unacceptable”. There were new trends now in dangerous driving which demanded action and results, he told RTÉ’s News at One.
Over the Christmas period, there was a 34% rise in the numbers of drivers stopped for suspected drink-driving, he also confirmed.
“I’m looking actively at what we can do and that would include bringing down the levels on the breathalyser to a lower limit to take people off the roads if they are drinking. We also have to look at other measures which will directly attack the alcohol situation.”
A total of 187 people lost their lives on Irish roads last year in 175 accidents, 25 more people than who died in crashes in 2015.
The Road Safety Authority confirmed yesterday that it had submitted proposals to Minister Ross in November, which suggests publishing drink-driving offenders details in a similar way to how Revenue publishes names of people who have failed to pay their taxes properly.
Young male motorists were drinking far too much and living in a “fool’s paradise”, said the minister, who also warned that the problem was now “endemic”.
The minister confirmed that other methods that may be used to push down drink-driving rates included increased penalties or points, more gardaí on the roads or longer driving ban periods.
A special concession of a €200 fine for first-time drink-driving offenders also needed to be done away with as part of new measures to “stop carnage on the road”, added Mr Ross.
PARC Road Safety Group welcomed Mr Ross’s plans.
It said in the 2010 Road Traffic Act a law was introduced which “watered down” the penalties for drink driving.
“For the first time a drink driving offence (for a driver with an alcohol level up to 80mgs) did not merit a disqualification,” it said. “Instead they received three penalty points and a €200 fine.
“A review was promised in 18 months to see if the law was working properly to reduce the incidence of drink driving. We now know from official Garda figures this law is not doing law abiding road users any favours.
“We strongly support Minister Ross when he states that all drink-drivers should get a disqualification and we call on the Taoiseach to do likewise. We also call on the Taoiseach to fully support Minister Ross to reduce the legal alcohol limit from 50mg to 20mg for all drivers. Our politicians need to get real about the horrible effects of drink driving and adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards it.”
