THERE IS a terrible prospect that young men will be killed on our roads during this bank holiday weekend. And, if statistics hold true, young women passengers will die with them. The most likely causes of death will be speeding. But the consumption of alcohol and a failure to wear seat-belts may also contribute to the desolation and heartbreak their deaths will bring to their families and friends. We all have a responsibility to slow down, to avoid alcohol when driving and to obey the rules of the road.
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in improving road safety through better quality roads; the testing of vehicles; a crackdown on drunken driving and the introduction of a penalty points system. As a consequence, Ireland now has the sixth best road safety record within the European Union. In spite of that, in the first half of this year, 127 people died on the roads and 80 per cent of those were males. It is clear that not just “boy-racers” are a danger to themselves and to others.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has said he is prepared to implement a request from the Road Safety Authority to reduce the blood alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg for drink-driving offences. Random-testing for drug use may also be introduced. As might be expected, the licensed trade has objected to a reduction in blood alcohol limits because of the effects it may have on business. Where lives are at stake, however, that is not a sufficient reason. Medical and road safety experts insist that reducing blood alcohol limits to European levels will save lives and reduce the number of injuries.
We need to become more responsible. Today, hardly anyone would deny that society has a serious problem with alcohol abuse. But all sorts of excuses are found when it comes to doing something about it. To hear some people talk, you would think life in rural Ireland would become intolerable if elderly farmers were not allowed to drink to excess and then drive home. Nobody has to drink and drive. It is a choice. Country roads are more dangerous than any others. And the people who use them should not be under the influence of alcohol.