Drink-driving laws - Proposals recognise the real world

NOEL DEMPSEY’S proposals for changes to our drink-driving laws are a rational step along the road to making our roads safer for everyone who uses them.

They introduce the idea that fines and penalty points are a more appropriate sanction for first-time offenders caught driving with up to 100mg of alcohol per litre of blood. They bring a degree of humanity to our drink-driving laws. They mean that those dependent on driving for their livelihood will not lose their job because of a first-time, relatively minor breach of the legislation. This is an especially important recognition of reality as so many young, working couples, already under immense strain, live in commuter belts a considerable distance from their places of work.

This moderate concession may not satisfy ardent anti-drink driving campaigners but it is a measure that will restore a degree of reality to our system. It does not diminish or excuse the crime, it just recognises the difference between poor judgment and criminal indifference. This level of penalty depends on an immediate acceptance of guilt. Failure to plead guilty on foot of a negative blood alcohol test will mean going to court.

This means that the complicated procedure of securing a drink-driving conviction is made much simpler. This may displease coteries of inventive solicitors who used all sorts of technical loopholes to try to stymie cases brought against their clients but this new arrangement’s simplicity is matched by its transparency.

The limit will drop from 80mg to 50mg — effectively putting motorists over the legal limit after a pint of stout or a glass of wine. The level will be reduced to 20mg for learner or professional drivers.

Effectively, if you’re driving it’s not worth your while having any drink at all. This is the object of the legislation and it will succeed in the vast majority of cases.

Compelling gardaí to test any driver involved in an accident is welcome too. If fatalities are involved it might be worth publishing the results of these tests, possibly by the coroner at any subsequent inquest. This would clearly illustrate the role drink has in road deaths.

Whether anti-drink driving campaigners — or legislation — recognise it or not, our drink-driving laws do contribute to rural isolation and depression. It has become fashionable, even amongst some who should know better, to dismiss these legitimate concerns. Maybe it is the great contrast between living in an urban environment, with the support services that implies, and living in a rural community with virtually no services, a falling population and few alternatives to the pub for social interaction. There is no obvious, easy solution to this situation but it remains a real issue.

The cultural shift in relation to drink driving over the last few decades could not have been anticipated. A little more than two decades ago it was a tolerated part of everyday life. Yet, within a generation, it has assumed pariah status, especially among younger people.

Mr Dempsey’s proposals are a continuation of that process and they will contribute towards making our roads safer.