Sir, - Don Faller (September 5th) deserves an answer as much because of the rather uncharitable tone of his letter as because of the error that it pointed out.
Mr Faller is correct in saying that I made a mistake in my terminology when writing of legal blood-alcohol limits for drivers. Ireland and Britain define blood alcohol levels in milligrammes (mgs) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The road traffic act of 1994 lowered the Irish limit to 80 mgs, which is still the highest level in Europe.
The Continental system is slightly different. France would describe our 80 mgs as 0.8 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood. Their driving limit is set at 0.5 grammes per litre (50 milligrammes per 100 millilitres in our language) and is therefore significantly lower than the Irish limit.
My mistake was in writing of a limit of 0.8 milligrammes instead of 0.8 grammes. This was my fault, but the error was a small one and should not mean that my observations should be regarded as flawed.
Indeed, on the substantive issue of last week's article, I stand by the points I made. Whether you call it 1.75 grammes per litre or 175 milligrammes per 100 millilitres, the driver of Princess Diana's car was reported to have a blood alcohol level over twice the Irish legal limit and over three times the French limit. Far too much in any language. - Yours, etc.,
Conor Faughnan,
Public Affairs Manager, The Automibile Association, Blackrock, Co Dublin