Detection rate for drink-driving 'ridiculously low'

The number of drink-driving detections in the State is "ridiculously low", the chairman of the National Safety Council has said.

Mr Eddie Shaw said drunk drivers were responsible for 30 per cent of car accidents and 40 per cent of fatal crashes last year.

A total of 415 people died on the roads in the year 2000, an increase of 0.5 per cent on the previous year's figure.

Mr Shaw said around 10,430 drink driving detections were recorded every year.

"That's simply not at a level that will have any serious impact on the behaviour of people who are habitual drink drivers."

He pointed out that, on average, each garda makes one drink-driving detection a year compared to 18 for speeding.

Mr Shaw said the garda∅'s enforcement capability was hindered by lack of resources and the limitations of current legislation.

"Solving the problem of drink driving requires enforcement in large volumes. We need to see over 500 detections per day compared to the 28 being made a present," he said.

He insisted the Government's road safety strategy, which was launched in 1998, was working. The present strategy ends next year.

He recommended that the Government use the forthcoming Road Traffic Bill to introduce measures such as random breath testing.

"I'm convinced if strategy two is properly researched and implemented it will reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50 per cent from today's level," he said.

Mr Shaw said 200 lives could be saved and thousands of injuries prevented if the strategy was successful.

"The indications are that on a benefit versus cost basis there a few better investments of public money by Government."

He pointed to the experience of road safety personnel in Victoria, Australia, where similar targets had been met as a result of the introduction of "high-level enforcement" measures. They are "10 years ahead of us," he said.

"We haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the drink driving issue. It is unbelievably serious," he said.

Mr Shaw noted an upsurge in the number of people killed on mopeds recently due to the vehicle's increasing popularity.

The National Safety Council also has responsibility for fire safety.

There were 46 fire fatalities in the year 2000, an increase of seven on the 1999 figure.

Mr Shaw said the most vulnerable groups were men over 65 and children under 12.

He welcomed the recent announcement of the strategic review of fire safety and fire services by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey.