Net closing on drink-drive motorists

MORE THAN 3% of motorists stopped at Garda checkpoints are found to be above the drink-driving limit, according to a study on road safety performance by EU motorists.

The survey by the European Transport Safety Council also shows that just 4% of Irish motorists on average receive a speeding ticket each year.

However, the ETSC report praises the progress which the road safety authorities in Ireland have made since 2001 in tackling speed, drink driving and the non-use of seat belts – the three main killers on EU roads.

Research shows that enforcement levels on drink driving by gardaí has improved in recent years with the number of tests increasing from 113 per 1,000 population in 2007 to 128 in 2008.

However, over that period the percentage of motorists discovered to be over the legal drink-driving limit fell from 4.1% to 3.2%.

Such results place Ireland with the 7th highest rate of detected drink-driving out of 15 EU countries.

However, an ETSC spokesperson said the findings needed to be interpreted carefully as it is not clear how drivers are selected for testing in different EU member states.

While only 4% of Irish motorists receive a speeding ticket on average, the ETSC study shows that the highest percentage of speed tickets are issued in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland – countries where safety cameras and other speed detection devices have been used extensively.

More than 55% of motorists in the Netherlands and 45% of motorists in Austria received speeding tickets in 2008. It is estimated that on average a driver passes a speed camera or speed check at least 300 times per annum in the Netherlands.

In contrast, drivers in many EU countries including Portugal, the Czech Republic, Italy and Sweden face little chance of being caught for speeding as less than 2.5% of all motorists in those countries are issued with speed tickets.

In particular, Irish motorists have slowed down markedly while driving in cities. Average speeds in urban areas decreased by 13km/h between 2002 and 2008 However, the average urban speed of 54km/h remains above the official speed limit with 53% of vehicles travelling in excess of the 50 km/h limit. In contrast, only 4% of vehicles exceed 50km/h in residential areas where the average speed was recorded at 35km/h.

The ETSC claims these results showed that further improvements could be achieved by lowering the speed limit in such areas to 30km/h.

Across Europe, it is estimated that alcohol-related deaths account for up to 25% of all road fatalities and 28% in Ireland compared to the “official” figure of just 11.5%.

However, the ETSC claims massive under-reporting of the extent of the problem distorts the real picture.

The ETSC has called for the increased use of alcolocks – devices which prevent motorists with excessive alcohol from starting the ignition in their vehicle – as well as seat belt reminders.

“The life-saving potential of comparatively simple and known measures in these key areas of road safety is huge,” said ETSC executive director Antonio Avenoso.

The ETSC attributed road safety improvement in recent years to the greater use of speed cameras and stricter sanctions like penalty points and high fines.

It is estimated that 2,200 road deaths could be prevented each year if average driving speeds fell by just 1km/h.