The number of motorists detected drink-driving continued to increase at the weekend as gardaí conducted the first random breath tests in the Republic, writes Conor Lally
Senior Garda officers have warned motorists that enforcement will further increase in coming weeks.
A total of 279 motorists were arrested for drink-driving between Friday night and yesterday morning with 69 of those caught at checkpoints established under the new random-breath testing regime.
The head of the Garda Traffic Corps, Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock, said those arrested after random testing had been detected in the course of 3,904 tests throughout the country from 10pm on Friday to 6am on Monday.
He believed the number of people failing random testing on its first weekend of operation was "quite substantial".
Gardaí were given the power to conduct random testing after provisions in the Road Traffic Act were activated by the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, last week.
Previously gardaí were only allowed to test a motorist after forming an opinion that they had been drinking.
A total of 676 checkpoints were put in place at the weekend, 117 in Dublin city.
Mr Rock said the 279 weekend detections represented a 10 per cent increase on the previous weekend. Detections for the year had increased by 23 per cent, to more than 8,000, compared with the same period last year as revealed by The Irish Times last week.
The numbers of arrests peaked at the weekend between 2am and 3am, mirroring the trend of accident peak times.
Mr Rock said he expected some of the first people arrested under the new random testing system to mount a legal challenge to the legislation when the first cases come to court. However, most motorists tested had reacted positively.
"People want this and want more of it. We're ramping up resources all the time."
While changing attitudes towards drink-driving was "difficult and slow", he believed greater enforcement would effect change in the long term.
Speed and drink-driving often combined to cause fatal crashes, he said. Many of those losing their lives on the roads were young people. Some 75 of this year's 229 road death victims were aged between 16 and 25.
An Garda Síochána had 400 hand-held alcometers which were now being used to carry out random testing. In coming weeks, substantially more devices would be acquired.
The Garda Traffic Corps would number 800 by the end of the year with full strength manpower of 1,200 members due to be reached at the end of next year.