Road safety chief calls for all vehicles to have devices blocking drink drivers from starting engine

The Medical Bureau of Road Safety's annual report reveals two drivers were arrested five times by gardaí on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, while six drivers were arrested four times and 22 drivers arrested three times during the 12-month period Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins

It has been revealed one driver was arrested seven times by gardaí in 2023 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, as the use of devices to prevent intoxicated drivers from being able to drive a car is being considered.

Two such devices have already been approved by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, with a further three currently being considered for approval.

Director of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety Professor Denis Cusack revealed the measure was being considered following the publication of the bureau’s annual report for 2023. 

The publication shows the youngest male driver arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence was aged 13 and the oldest was aged 90.

The report also shows the highest alcohol level found in blood in 2023 was 439mg/100ml, which is almost nine times over the legal limit of 50 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for driving.

In his foreword to the report, Prof Cusack said “the issue of repeat and high-risk intoxicated driving offenders remains to be addressed legislatively, in the prosecutorial process and also in medical rehabilitation”.

Prof Cusack said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: “One of the things we are working on is for cars to have alcohol-interlock devices — that is if the driver has alcohol, the car will not start. Already we have approval from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety two of these devices. 

"We are looking at another three which we hope to have approved shortly. They are being used in trucks and some bus fleets on a voluntary basis but we need to bring this in on a required basis.” 

In figures included in the bureau's 2023 annual report, they show two drivers were arrested five times by gardaí on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, while six drivers were arrested four times and 22 drivers arrested three times during the 12-month period.

The report says “the level of recidivism detected remains significant, with 243 drivers arrested twice in 2023”.

All samples are sent by gardaí to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for analysis and Prof Cusack said the number of blood and urine specimens received in 2023 for alcohol analysis by the bureau “continued at a high level of 5,464 specimens”.

The 5,464 specimens analysed was a 3% fall on the 5,622 specimens tested in 2022.

The number of toxicology blood and urine specimens analysed last year totalled 3,873, an increase of 80 on the 3,793 specimens analysed for drugs in 2022.

The numbers who were breath-tested last year totalled 3,734, down 87 on the 3,821 total for 2022.

Prof Cusack said: “Alcohol remained the most frequently detected intoxicant in drivers. The median alcohol level in blood was 153mg/100ml and in urine was 196mg/100ml when specimens with no trace of alcohol were excluded. 

These figures have sadly changed very little over the past 10 years. Alcohol-intoxicated driving thus remains a very significant danger on Irish roads, with many drivers driving when several times over the legal limits for the different categories of driver, including the lower limits set for the specified drivers.

Prof Cusack said for drug intoxicants other than alcohol, the three most commonly detected drugs in 2023 were again cannabis, cocaine and benzodiazepines.

The mean levels of cocaine, cannabis types and benzoylecgonine in positive samples were “significantly in excess of the legal limits, reflecting the high levels found in drug-intoxicated drivers which, like alcohol intoxication, are a major contributory factor to road traffic collisions”, he said.

Prof Cusack said “the frequent finding of combinations of drugs and drugs with alcohol remains of enormous concern”.

The report shows the most prevalent time for taking specimens was between 12am and 2am, accounting for 17% of all specimens taken.

The report also shows that in 2023, six specimens were forwarded to the bureau for analysis following blood taken from unconscious drivers, compared to nine specimens for unconscious drivers received in 2022.

The statistics show driving while under the influence is predominantly a male problem, with men accounting for 86% of blood and urine samples in 2023 and women accounting for 14%.

Of the arrested male drivers, 80% are aged under 45, with the largest cohort, at 31%, aged between 25 to 34.

The figures show 57% of blood and urine specimens had no trace of alcohol in 2023.