Drunk driver should have been in a coma, warns road safety expert

Gardai mount a random breathalyser checkpoint on the Navan Road, Dublin.

A road user who was caught drunk-driving while nearly eight and a half times over the legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) could have been in a coma, according to an expert.

Data published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) during its Safe and Sober seminar showed that in 2023 the average level of BAC found in drunk-drivers was 159mg per 100ml of blood, while the median was 163mg.