Carnage on Irish roads - Random tests must be introduced

PUBLIC unease over the mounting carnage on Ireland’s roads will be heightened by Opposition claims that the Government is delaying the introduction of random breath testing for two years because of its close links with publicans.

Initially promised by former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan in 2003, the introduction of random breath testing has yet to materialise, even though it is a key recommendation of the Government’s 2004-2006 Road Safety Strategy and the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol.

However, a Labour Party amendment to the Road Traffic Bill, providing for random breath testing, was rejected by the Coalition. And last week, Transport Minister Martin Cullen told the Dáil there were

Constitutional difficulties with the introduction of this form of testing, adding he had legal advice to this effect from the Attorney General.

On that basis, Mr Cullen’s credibility is bound to be questioned if he refuses to respond positively to Labour’s call for the AG’s advice to be published.

Like it or not, the allegation by Labour transport spokeswoman Roisín Shorthall that the Government was frightened of offending publicans, who represent a powerful force within Fianna Fáil, is bound to fuel concerns over the steadily mounting toll of fatalities involving drink driving.

In the latest tragedy, 15-year-old Katie Byrne died after being knocked down at Bunclody, Co Wexford, the victim of a hit-and-run accident involving a man later arrested and charged with drink driving.

Given the ongoing spate of fatalities involving young people on our roads, any measure that would accelerate efforts to combat the carnage should be put into effect without delay.

The Constitutional difficulty is all the more perplexing since random breath testing is widely used across Europe. Significantly, when Australia introduced random breath testing, the result was a 90% fall-off in drink driving over a five-year period.

In Ireland, however, gardaí can only breathalyse drivers involved in accidents or if they have reasonable suspicion a motorist is over the limit.

Crucially, while speed is the main factor in fatal crashes involving younger drivers, drink driving is a major cause of accidents involving middle aged drivers.

According to research by the National Safety Council, 40% of all road deaths are alcohol-related. Significantly, the research also found 86% of the public would support random breath testing.

The gardaí must be given every weapon to fight this worrying trend. Two years have passed and hundreds of people have been killed since random testing was first promised.

No wonder public cynicism is growing over the Government’s failure to expedite its introduction. With lives at stake, it is politically damaging for the Coalition to be perceived as ambivalent about a widely accepted test that could save hundreds of lives every year.

The case for random breath testing is overwhelming.