Drink driving arrests double on st patricks day

Drink driving arrests traditionally double on St Patrick’s Day, Gardai have revealed.

They are appealing to people to act responsibly on the national holiday.

New figures released today show that over the past five years, on average, twice as many drivers have been arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving on both St Patricks Day and the day after, compared to any other day in the month of March.

In addition, 15 people lost their lives and a further 30 people were seriously injured in road collisions between March 16-18, 2010-2014.

Chief Superintendent Mark Curran, Garda National traffic Bureau said: “Obviously we want everyone to enjoy the festivities that will take place around the country, but please remember that if you are celebrating and consuming alcohol, leave the car behind.”

“This not only applies to the day itself, but also the morning after. Alcohol takes time to be removed completely from your system, so if you do it right on your night out, you must ensure you are alcohol free the morning after too. It is simply unacceptable to see that the number of drivers arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving doubles over what should be a joyous couple of days,” Supt Curran remarked.

Gardai are urging people to enjoy the festivities responsibly. They will be targeting drink, drug and dangerous driving offences over the weekend.  

CEO of the Road Safety Authority(RSA), Moyagh Murdock also had a message for pedestrians, in particular those socialising over the St Patrick’s Day period.

“Two thirds of pedestrians killed on our roads have consumed alcohol. This is a staggering statistic, and it is not new. When you’re walking under the influence of alcohol you’re unsteady on your feet making you less capable of crossing the road safely and quickly and more likely to fall over or end up on the ground totally out of view of oncoming traffic,” she explained.

Ms Murdock said “you’re also more likey to step out unexpectedly into the path of oncoming vehicles because your judgment of distance and speed is seriously compromised. So, if you are going out, plan getting back. This means organising collection afterwards, a lift, or sharing a taxi or hackney to get home safely.”

The Garda and RSA’s St Patrick’s Day road safety campaign is being supported by Christine Donnelly, a mother from Waterford who lost her son, Brendan, in 2009 at the young age of 24 years. He was tragically killed when his vehicle was hit by a drunk driver, while travelling to Cork Airport. Christine has recorded a public service broadcast message which is being aired on national and local radio.

She has also recorded a short video message with veteran broadcaster Charlie Bird as part of an online social media campaign in the run up to St. Patrick’s Day.

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