Drink driving - Random tests needed to save lives

FOLLOWING one of the worst weeks of carnage on Ireland’s roads, it is encouraging that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is giving a lead, albeit tentatively, on the pressing question of random breath testing.

Tragically, yesterday’s fatality brought the death toll of recent days to 10 and the total for the year to 353, an increase of 20 over the same period last year.

Mr Ahern is hoping to introduce measures to breath test drivers at random, a life-saving initiative already operating in other EU countries. It would be warmly welcomed by the public, the families of accident victims and the anti-drink driving lobby.