Crime & Law

Motorist arrested on suspicion of drink-driving at 11am during Garda awareness briefing

Man in Donegal was stopped at mandatory intoxication checkpoint as part of bank holiday enforcement campaign

Gardaí became suspicious that the man was under the influence of alcohol. Photographer: Dara Mac Dónaill
Gardaí became suspicious that the man was under the influence of alcohol. Photographer: Dara Mac Dónaill
Stephen Maguire
Sat Mar 16 2024 - 13:49

A motorist has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving at a checkpoint being used by gardaí to launch their St Patrick’s bank holiday road safety enforcement operation on Saturday.

Gardaí in Co Donegal were operating a mandatory intoxication checkpoint at Drumbarnet in Manorcunningham at 11am on Saturday when the incident happened.

The checkpoint was part of a campaign to highlight awareness of road safety in the coming days with a high volume of traffic set to use the country’s roads.

The enforcement operation is focused on the dangers of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, not wearing a seat belt, speeding and using a mobile phone while driving.

READ MORE

At this morning’s roadside briefing, Gardaí pulled over a motorist who had a number of passengers in their vehicle.

Officers were left shocked when the driver appeared to be over the drink-driving limit.

The person was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and taken to Letterkenny Garda station to be processed.

Head of the Donegal Traffic Corps, Inspector Seamus McGonigle, confirmed the person was arrested.

He said the arrest was a valuable lesson to all motorists of the dangers on the roads at all times of the day.

“The person was pulled in and gardaí formed their suspicions that the driver was under the influence. The driver was arrested and taken to a Garda station to be processed.

“The incident is an example to the public that there are dangers on our roads at all times and people need to be vigilant from the moment they get behind the wheel, no matter what time of the day it is,” he said.

Inspector McGonigle confirmed that there will be an increase in mandatory checkpoints across the country over the bank holiday weekend.

Drivers stopped at these checkpoints can be tested even if gardaí have not formed the opinion that they are over the drink or drug-driving limit.

Inspector McGonigle also said that Gardaí will be monitoring and cracking down on drivers using phones and other distraction devices while in control of their vehicles.

The stop came after a pedestrian killed by a lorry in Letterkenny became the 43rd person to die on the roads this year.

In the same period last year, there were 39 road deaths, meaning deaths this year are tracking higher than 2023, which itself was a nine-year high.