Drink-drive arrests - Where have gardaí gone?

Where have all the gardaí gone? That is the question many motorists were asking themselves over the holiday period. While Justice Minister Alan Shatter may continue to insist that our roadways are being properly policed, the facts speak for themselves.

Drink-driving arrests over Christmas are barely half what they were when random breath testing was introduced in 2006. Mr Shatter argues that the reason that fewer drivers have been detected driving over the limit it that their behaviour has improved.

That may be a dangerously optimistic view, especially in the context of the growing numbers of people being killed on our roads.

In a recent AA survey of 26,000 motorists, 72% felt that the Garda presence on the roads had reduced.

If that is the perception, the danger is that complacency will return to our roads and that many motorists will revert to drinking and dangerous driving.