Christmas anti-drink driving campaign unveiled

Up to 45 people will be killed and up to 200 will be injured on Irish roads in the run-up to Christmas, according to the National Safety Council (NSC).

Of those deaths and injuries, up to a third will be in incidents involving drunk drivers, the NSC said at the unveiling of its Christmas anti-drink driving campaign this morning.

Basing their statistics from previous years, the NSC also said around 1,500 motorists will be arrested for drink-driving offences over the same period.

The primary thrust of the campaign is to convince drivers not to drink and drive, but to use public transport, taxis or designate a driver.

The campaign - mounted with the gardaí, the Department of Transport and the Irish Insurance Federation - follows yesterday's announcement of new Garda powers to breathalyse motorists.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said legislation will be enacted to allow gardaí to breath test motorists they suspect of committing a number of road traffic offences, such as double parking or driving a vehicle with a faulty indicator. These new powers are to be signed into law within the next few weeks.

International research shows alcohol is a contributory factor in up to 40 per cent of traffic accidents. Up to a quarter of all crashes in Ireland are caused by alcohol, while drinking is the primary cause of a third of all road deaths.

Mr Eddie Shaw, chairman of the NSC, said an estimated 76 lives have been saved over the past year since driving behaviour changed due to the penalty points system. The new Garda powers are intended to reinforce this change in behaviour, he added.

The Garda operation will see increased garda visibility in the form of checkpoints and the use of undercover officers.

However, the Labour Party, while welcoming the call to reduce drink driving, said the campaign in itself was not enough to reduce the carnage.

Labour's transport spokeswoman, Ms Roisin Shortall, said the already-overstretched Garda Siochana needs to be supplemented by the extra 2,000 gardai promised before the last General Election and by the Traffic Corps, which was proposed by Mr Brennan but has failed to materialise. "The reality is the Government never had any intention of filling its own committments," she claimed.