Gardaí keep up pressure on drink drivers

GARDAÍ are continuing to arrest, in increasing numbers, suspected drink drivers despite random breath testing being introduced over four months ago.

New figures released yesterday showed gardaí made 441 arrests last week in relation to likely offences of driving with excess alcohol.

The week-long figures, from Monday November 6, were up on the previous weekly period.

According to gardaí, the week-on-week increase was 21.

Gardaí said the rising numbers pointed to a large group of motorists still continuing to believe that drink driving was an acceptable practice.

Head of the Garda Traffic Bureau, Chief Supt John Farrelly said: “It remains the situation that there is a minority of people out there who continue to drink and drive.”

Over the coming weeks, a Christmas safety campaign will be mapped out by gardaí hoping to further curb road deaths across the State.

“We hope, while people will be going to parties, that they will also arrange safe transport for the nights as well,” the chief superintendent said.

Last week’s arrests were similar in numbers to the recent Halloween bank holiday garda blitz, which saw 459 motorists detained on suspicious of drink driving.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) yesterday said the increased numbers of drink-driving arrests did not necessarily mean more drivers were getting into cars with alcohol taken.

RSA spokesman Brian Farrell explained: “It’s not that more people are drinking and driving, but the detection rate is up. If you look at international practice, there is always an increase in arrests anyway when police get new powers.

‘‘This will level off when the penny drops and people realise they won’t get away with it.”