Drink driving arrests show 73% rise

GARDAÍ have revealed that they made 451 arrests for drink-driving in Cork, Kerry and Limerick last month, representing a massive 73% increase on October 2005.

Billy Duane, the Garda regional traffic corps inspector, said yesterday that significant increases in the number of arrests had been made in the five garda divisions. Most notably the number of arrests exactly doubled in Kerry and Limerick and nearly doubled in Cork City.

Inspector Duane said that to October 31 this year there had been a total of 2,949 arrests for drink-driving in the three counties, while there were 2,192 arrest in the comparable period last year.

This represents a 34.5% increase on 2005 and a 52% increase on the same period in 2004 when there were 1,935 arrests.

Since mandatory breath-testing was introduced last July traffic corps units operating in the five divisions have breath-tested a total of 24,000 drivers, 425 of whom were arrested at the scene — or in other words one in every 56.

It is understood that mandatory breath-testing has proved most successful in catching people who have had one too many during the hours of the early morning.

“Since mandatory breath-testing was introduced last July there has been a reduction nationwide in the number of fatalities,” inspector Duane said.

If current trends continue the number of arrests this year in Cork, Kerry and Limerick are likely to top the 3,500 mark.

Inspector Duane warned that as the Christmas crackdown has already started more and more drivers not heeding the advice are likely to find themselves in trouble.

“The public can expect an even bigger presence (of gardaí) on our roads in the coming days and weeks. There will be an increased level of checkpoints as the Commissioner has made more resources available,” Inspector Duane said.

Traffic corps personnel will not only be targeting those over the limit. He said that in the coming days gardaí would be targeting the illegal use of mobile phone by drivers and the activities of boy racers, young reckless drivers who are putting their lives and the lives of others at risk.

“We will also be targeting heavy goods vehicles, especially to check on unlicensed operators, drivers who overload their vehicles and those who have tachograph infringements,” the inspector added.