Gardaí arrest almost 1,500 in drink driving campaign

ALMOST 1,500 drivers were arrested for drink driving in a Christmas garda blitz, up 200 on the previous campaign.

The 1,449 arrests were the result of the annual Garda Christmas and New Year Road Safety Campaign, which ran from late November to January 5.

During the same six-week campaign around Christmas 2001, there were 1,238 arrests.

While the number of motorists detained on suspicion of drink driving is up, a garda spokesperson said there were also more checkpoints set up this year.

The largest number of arrests were in the Louth-Meath garda division, where 121 were suspected of drink driving.

There were 98 arrests in Dublin South, 92 in Dublin North, 76 in Co Mayo, 75 in Cork City and 74 in Co Kerry.

The National Safety Council reiterated its message that safe driving is a year-round consideration, not just for Christmas. Council chief executive Pat Costello said the greater arrest rate did not necessarily correlate with increased drink driving.

“It’s not clear whether the 17% increase indicates more people are drinking and driving or whether it’s the result of greater enforcement by gardaí.

“Our simple message is that if you drive, don’t drink and, if you drink, don’t drive,” he said.

“Alcohol is a factor in 30% of all crashes and 40% of fatal crashes, so it’s vital that drivers know the dangers of having even a small amount of drink before getting behind the wheel.”

The introduction of penalty points in late October has been praised in helping to reduce the number of road deaths last year, down 32 from 2001.

Up to yesterday morning, there had been five fewer fatalities on our roads than in the same period last year.