An advisory group of medical professionals, senior gardaí and road safety experts established by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has been asked to recommend a new blood alcohol limit for motorists.
The group will consider reducing the allowable blood alcohol limit from its current 80mg/100ml, to a level between 50mg/100ml and 20mg/100ml. A level of 20mg/100ml would be effectively a zero alcohol limit for drivers.
As a result, the new Road Safety Strategy - to be published tomorrow afternoon in Dublin by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and the Taoiseach - is not expected to include a specific recommendation for a new blood alcohol limit, suggesting that the current limit be reviewed.
A draft of the strategy seen by this newspaper this summer had contained a recommendation for a new 50mg/100ml limit. However, in the final version this was dropped. Instead, the RSA's policy advisory group has been asked to analyse international best practice and bring its own expertise to bear before recommending a new limit for the State. It has not been given a date by which to complete its work.
The expert group is chaired by Trinity College Dublin professor Ray Fuller and includes international road safety expert Fred Wegman (who reviewed the progress made by the two previous strategies); Prof Denis Cusack, head of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety; and Assistant Commissioner Eddie Rock, head of the Garda Traffic Corps. The advisory group will make its recommendation on a new limit to the RSA board, which in turn will bring this recommendation to Mr Dempsey.
The process is likely to take several months and would allow the Department of Transport bring forward a series of changes to drink-driving law in a new roads Bill, including provision for the compulsory testing of drivers at crash sites announced by the Minister last week.
The Road Safety Strategy was approved by Cabinet last week. It makes more than 120 recommendations and contains a mixture of new ideas and unimplemented targets from previous plans.
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