Drink driving not linked to rural isolation

I REFER to your editorial in last Friday’s edition of your newspaper (Jan 28). This was a most unbalanced and dangerous piece.

To link suicide with rural isolation is fine and we congratulate you on highlighting it, there is no doubt that rural isolation is a contributory factor in this alarming and deadly reality and the matter certainly needs to be tackled urgently.

However, to say that “some of these deaths must be attributed to our new puritanism surrounding even the most restrained cases of drinking and driving” is utterly wrong and irresponsible.

You neglected to mention that alcohol itself is an important factor in suicide and attempted suicide and that alcohol is a close relation of depression.

Furthermore, one alcohol-related death or serious injury on any of our roads is one death/injury too many.

Such events destroy families and communities and add to a sense of desperate loneliness. The efforts we have made to reduce drinking and driving over the last few years are to be encouraged not disparaged and balanced commentary is necessary if progress is not to be undermined.

I am surprised that you published such opinion as you have done a lot down the years to highlight the perils of alcohol and driving. Indeed you kindly reported on our national conference held in Cork some two years ago; “Alcohol and drugs the low-down on Depression and Suicide”.

By all means let’s debate these vital issues and let us pressurise the “powers that be” to tackle rural isolation, but drinking alcohol and driving is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Rolande J Anderson

Irish College of General Practitioners

Dublin 2