There is no excuse for drink driving

AS a survivor of a road traffic collision in which my husband was killed and a friend of ours also seriously injured, I am not just upset but astonished and disgusted by your callous comment in your recent editorial (Jan 28).

In particular I refer to “Laws which make perfect sense in Dartland are a recipe for isolation and depression in remote areas, no matter what some dismissive and sneering voices argue. There must surely be a way to make our roads safe without driving lonely isolated people to suicide”.

I would expect that a learned person such as your good self would know that alcohol is a depressant and that some of the main risk factors for suicide are depression, and economic worries.

I can empathise with the loss of a loved one through suicide because I have lost a loved one through an equally un-natural death — a road traffic collision. Both are equally tragic and for the most part both are preventable.

The freedom to drive home from the pub while under the influence will not solve anyone’s depression but has the potential to wreak havoc on many, many families across Ireland, especially in rural Ireland where most fatal collisions occur.

Am I one of those “dismissive and sneering voices” you refer to because I wish to protect others from the pain and loss that my family and I have suffered? I don’t think so.

There can be no excuse for drink driving and putting lives at risk.

Ann Fogarty

Wicklow town

Co Wicklow