Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Dec 2001

Vol. 546 No. 1

Written Answers. - Road Traffic Offences.

Liz McManus

Question:

44 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps being taken to reduce road deaths over the Christmas period and especially to reduce the incidence of drink driving; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31112/01]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy)

On 21 November I launched a pre-Christmas road safety campaign which was organised by the National Safety Council in co-operation with the Garda. This will see a period of intensified enforcement and promotion of road safety focusing on the three key areas of drink driving, speeding and seat belt wearing in the lead up to the Christmas period.

The Government has set a target to reduce by 25% the number of fatal accidents occurring between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. These accidents are commonly drink related. Information for 2000 shows a 17% reduction compared to 1997 in the number of fatal road accidents occurring between these hours.

The level of detection by the Garda Síochána for drink driving has been steadily increasing in recent years. The number of detections in 2000 at 10,433 represents a 24% increase on 1998. More than 10,700 drink driving detections were made to the end of October 2001.

The Road Traffic Bill, 2001, which is being debated in the House, extends the grounds on which a member of the Garda Síochána may require a driver to provide a preliminary breath specimen to include situations where a driver is involved in a road accident or where the Garda considers that a road traffic offence has been committed. This is in addition to the present grounds where the Garda has formed an opinion that a driver has consumed alcohol. Breath testing on the more selective basis provided for in the Bill is an effective and targeted manner in which we can use the resources available to us and equates to standard practice in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Evidential breath testing, EBT, involves the determination of alcohol concentration in expired breath. EBT was operational in four Garda stations by the end of 1999 and in 25 stations by the end of 2000. The EBT system is being extended to more stations throughout the country during 2001 and it is intended to bring the total in operation to 40 by the end of this year.

The National Safety Council's drink driving campaign, called SHAME, forcefully presents a message that drinking and driving carries high risk consequences and is socially shameful. Pre and post-testing of this campaign indicates a significant positive shift in attitude in the targeted groups and in the wider community towards the issue of drink driving.

The increased levels of enforcement which the Garda has put in place, advertising campaigns such as those carried out by the National Safety Council and the proposed move to selective random breath testing will strengthen the fight against drink driving.