HEART BEAT:The national pastime of talking solutions is no substitute for action
WE’RE AT IT again. The country is rapidly going down the tubes to the extent of €400 million a week and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. We’re talking alright, but we’re not arresting the slide and getting a grip on what is necessary to save the communal hide. Nothing is going to come right unless we halt this haemorrhage and begin to transfuse the patient.
We have other important things on our minds. We’re talking about lowering the blood alcohol limit from 80mgs to 50mgs. This seemingly has the capacity to bring down the Government.
We’ve fought over this battlefield before, the last time in 2006 over the introduction of random breath-testing. This time, however, it is a distraction from far more important issues. We should not lose sight of our main problems in this diversion. Huffing and puffing about bringing the Government down over a pint or two is not very realistic and yet there is a problem there, and something needs to be done. It is not a clear one-sided issue. Both sides of the argument make legitimate points.
" Oh some are fond of Spanish wine and some are fond of French,
And some’ll swallow tay and stuff fit only for a wench,
But I’m for right Jamaica till I roll beneath the bench,
Says the old bold mate of Henry Morgan"
(Captain Stratton’s Fancy by John Masefield).
I’m not making any case for Capt Stratton. Clearly rolling beneath the bench would raise some doubts about your ability to control a motor car, whatever about a pirate schooner. I’m thinking about lesser souls who might enjoy a glass or two of wine and might be reduced to “tay and stuff” before they could get their wheels on the road. Incidentally, I’ve known wenches who could drink the rest of us under the bench.
One hundred milligrams to 80, 80 to 50, 50 to 20, how about zero – we’ve heard it all.
We’ve been told that there is no safe level of alcohol in the system and statistics are regularly trotted out to tell us that in Timbuktu or Jeddah, or places where there is little or no alcohol, such road deaths as occur are not caused by alcohol. That’s useful information, a bit like an udder on a bull.
We have a problem enforcing the laws we already have. It is highly questionable as to whether in the midst of all their other duties in addressing crime in this country that the gardaí should spend large amounts of their time mounting road blocks to catch the odd drinking motorist. This particularly applies to the road blocks in the mornings, which probably contribute little to overall enforcement but arouse considerable resentment.
There are the problems of poor rural roads and bad lighting. There are problems with uninsured drivers and badly-maintained vehicles. Above all, there is a major problem with speeding. Is it justifiable to tackle just one problem and ignore the others?
The ideal would be to move on all of these areas simultaneously. We all know that won’t happen now because the country does not have the money to implement an overall strategy. The national pastime of talking solutions is no substitute for action.
Is there a downside to just reducing the blood alcohol level as an isolated measure? There is indeed. Those who argue strongly against the proposed measure are not just the vintners but also their customers who like the occasional drink. They point to the fact that outside the cities there is no constant reliable rural transport system. Taxis and hackneys can be in short supply in these areas and are often prohibitively expensive for those in the hinterland of small towns and villages. This very real problem affects every aspect of rural life, not merely getting folk to and from pubs.
If we accept that the smallest amount of alcohol can be detrimental to the control of a car, then logic dictates that the blood level for drivers should be zero. The other numbers are irrelevant. It is not a crime for people to gather, socialise and enjoy a drink or several. Can we organise it in such a way that folk are not deprived and above all that nobody gets hurt?
We Irish are convivial by nature and prohibition in whatever guise is not welcome. Horace wrote, " Nulla placere diu nec vivere carmina possunt quae scribuntur aquae potoribus" or "No verse can give lasting pleasure if written by drinkers of water".
- Maurice Neligan is a cardiac surgeon