Random breath testing by the Garda on motorists to monitor whether they have taken alcohol will begin "this summer", the Minister of State for Transport said today.
The new Road Traffic Bill, which passed through its final stages in the Oireachtas yesterday, makes provision for mandatory breath testing at checkpoints and also bans the use of handheld mobile phones while driving.
Pat the Cope Gallagher
A spokeswoman for Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the bill would shortly be signed into law by the President and that mandatory testing for drink driving would happen this summer.
However, a Garda spokeswoman said the force's traffic division had yet to study the detail of the bill. She could not say when mandatory checks on motorists would begin.
The Road Traffic Bill also opens the way for the introduction of what the Minister said would be "several hundred" speed cameras, which would be managed by the Garda and the Department of Justice.
Speaking in Donegal today at the launch of a road safety campaign, Mr Gallagher said the breath testing move and the ban on handheld mobile phones while driving were "major steps forward in tackling the carnage on our roads".
"Drink driving continues to be a major contributory factor to deaths and injuries on our roads. Over 4,000 people were convicted of drink driving offences last year, an increase of 30 per cent over 2004.
"The Road Traffic Bill will enable the Gardai to operate, for the first time, mandatory roadside breath testing. This, I hope will have a significant impact on driver behaviour in general, and in particular on those who persistently drink and drive."
He said that addressing the problem of drink driving requires "a balanced and sustained programme that must involve enforcement, public information campaigns and the application of a range of hard hitting deterrents, including driving disqualifications".
"We need everyone's co-operation in order to make this a safe summer. While the enforcement of traffic laws is a top priority, each of us who use the roads carry a clear responsibility for our own safety and that of others.
"Every one of us has a responsibility to always obey traffic laws and drink driving is not exception. Indeed, were all of us to refuse travelling with someone who insists on drink driving, our roads would be much safer and lives would be saved."
Gay Byrne, chairman designate of the Road Safety Authority, was also at today's event in Donegal.
It is the third in a series of campaigns by the Donegal Road Safety Working Group this year, aimed at reducing deaths on the roads.
The latest campaign focuses on drink driving with the slogan: "One drink is one drink too many. Never ever drink and drive."