Doctors call for mandatory rehab for people found guilty of drink driving

PUBLIC health doctors have called for mandatory rehabilitation for anyone found guilty of drink driving.

Dr Declan Bedford, a public health doctor with the Health Service Executive (HSE) North East, said international studies had shown one in three people caught for drink driving were not first-time offenders and that sending them to rehab could be the necessary “wake-up call”.

“It is a problem, people repeating the offence. Most are well over the limit, it’s not just one drink,” Dr Bedford said.