Drink driving sees shift back to ‘bad old days’, says Garda

There has been a shift "back to the bad old days" when it comes to drink driving and speeding among young people in particular according to Chief Supt Aidan Reid of the Garda National Traffic Bureau.

Drivers have been caught speeding at 157 km/h and intoxicated from drink and drugs the morning after, he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

Despite an intense campaign 719 people were arrested for intoxicated driving during the month of July even though reports indicate that intoxicated driving was linked to 29 per cent of fatalities over a four year period.

“There seems to be a shift back to the bad old days, young persons in particular are over represented in this category both for drunk driving and for speeding. Yesterday in Limerick we had a driver driving at 157 km/h which is absolute madness.

"We've had people caught taking drugs, intoxicated driving in the morning time at 10 o'clock in Ennis. We've had people arrested at 8am in Sligo for drink driving, the morning after. So An Garda Síochána have been out in force in July since this recent study, and despite this 719 people arrested in July."

Chief Supt Reid warned that the drivers face significant penalties, including the possibility of not getting visas for the United States, "so it is going to affect their career".

He added that since the beginning of the year, 5,000 people have been arrested for drink driving, including 719 in July. Over the bank holiday weekend 165 people were arrested.

“We said we would be out in force and we were and we will continue to be there for the rest of the holiday period. Over 7,000 people were tested - out of which 165 were arrested.”

When asked what An Garda Síochána can do to dissuade people, he said: “It’s about visibility, it’s about targeting, and we have been out there. The figures prove we’re up 18 per cent on the number of people who have been arrested in the period in July.

"We've reached out, we have been out there, we have continuously sent the message out. It's not all bad news - across Europe, we're fifth best, we've made significant strides, until last week Donegal had one fatality for the year, unfortunately the number in the last week was five."

There will be further figures incoming days to detect mobile phone use while driving and not wearing seat belts.

“Distracted driving is an issue. Our focus has been that drink driving is not culturally acceptable. The cohort is young drivers, maybe with disposable incomes; we are focusing on that, we will continue to do that. We want people to enjoy the holiday, keep within speed limit and never ever drink and drive.”