More than 500 bank holiday arrests on roads

MORE THAN 500 people were arrested for suspected drink-driving offences over the bank holiday weekend.

Chief Supt Gabriel McIntyre of the Traffic Corps said almost 2,000 checkpoints had been set up and these had also led to a number of people being arrested for dangerous driving and drug-driving offences.

In cases where gardaí suspect a driver was intoxicated but there is no evidence of alcohol in the blood, the sample will be tested for drugs.

Most arrests took place during the 11pm to 3am period each night, he said, with “very few” drivers being arrested at checkpoints later in the morning.

The majority of checkpoints were sited on the arterial routes out of Dublin and in the main provincial towns.

Chief Supt McIntyre said the number of drink-drive arrests was “down somewhat” on the equivalent weekend last year. “From talking to people on the ground, there is definitely greater compliance by the general motoring public to the drink-drive laws.” Drivers were adopting a more responsible attitude and said this was evident in the fall in arrests.

He denied there had been a reduction in enforcement levels or that this was a contributory factor to the fall in arrests. “In our policing plan, traffic has a very high priority and in each of our divisions senior management would always allocate a number of extra hours to enforcement,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Fine Gael leadership will hear some internal opposition to the plan by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to lower the drink-driving limit when the parliamentary party meets next week. Cavan Monaghan TD Seymour Crawford has said the proposal could make life difficult for people living in rural areas, using arguments similar to those of Fianna Fáil backbenchers.