The Government should enforce the existing drink-driving legislation properly instead of seeking new measures, and more Gardai and more resources should be provided to do that”.
If the Gardai were given the proper resources and extra numbers to enforce the drink-driving laws that are there there would be no need for additional measures to be introduced by Minister Shane Ross. I am totally against anyone who would engage in drink-driving and the legislation that is there already carries stiff enough sanctions. It is boots on the ground that will ensure that there are higher detection rates and that’s what must be done. Remember that 93% of people who are caught drink-driving are over the 80mg limit that exists at the moment so the solution to this problem lies with extra detection.
The poor state of many roads especially in rural areas is also a contributory factor to many accidents and the budget that councils are getting from the Government has been slashed over the years and we need greater investment in our rural roads network to increase safety. We must be realistic about tackling this problem and simply introducing new legislation will not make any difference at all.
