Lowering drink driving limit.

Mechanically cap all cars at 30mph and you'll soon see the true cause of road deaths. That you can be deemed fit to drive home after a 12 hour night shift or an overnight flight, and not after a pint following a round of golf on a Saturday evening is silly imo.
 
demoivre said:
Mechanically cap all cars at 30mph and you'll soon see the true cause of road deaths. That you can be deemed fit to drive home after a 12 hour night shift or an overnight flight, and not after a pint following a round of golf on a Saturday evening is silly imo.
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Personally agree. While I certainly do think that there is a certain amount of drinking driving going on, it is not the sole reason for accidents on our roads which I put down to the following:
  • Non enforcement of the laws already there
  • Speeding
  • Careless driving / fatique
  • Lack of respect and consideration on the roads.
 
why not just ban drinking and pubs full stop....then we can all celebrate our wonderfull new nanny state with a nice cup of tea!
in a few short years we will looked upon as the boring nation in the world.
 
starlite68 said:
why not just ban drinking and pubs full stop....then we can all celebrate our wonderfull new nanny state with a nice cup of tea!
in a few short years we will looked upon as the boring nation in the world.
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aye that's right starlite, ignore the fact that we're one of only 3 countries remaining in the EU with a limit greater than 50mg. If we follow along your line of thinking we must be one of the most exciting nations in the EU right now because our limit is 80mg and the likes of Italy, France and Spain must be damn boring places! :rolleyes:
 
its only being done to grab a few votes and make some people good.....wont make a blind bit of differance....in six months or a year some other clown will try to make hay and call for it to be made 30mg...and so on..ect
 
I don't disagree there, I certainly don't see this making much difference unless enforcement is really ramped up so yeah it does smack of a vote grabbing move. But hardly think the term nanny state is appropriate in this instance, nor equating a limit of 50mg with being a boring nation!
 
as i said its only a matter of time before someone else sees a few handy votes and wants it made even lower...under the pretence of having a social conscience,probably someone with the luxury of a government car and driver to bring them to the pub.
 
It beggars believe why people would drink and drive - it would never cross my mind but then I've seen the consequences! I wonder how many of those people who complain about the lowering of the limit would change their attitude if they were brought into an A&E, ITU, Ortho or Neuro unit, or they stopped off at a hospital morgue so they could see the full extent of injuries through a PM. The National Rehab in Dun Laoighaire...would teach them the reality!
 
if the government were really serious about taking drink drivers off the roads they could do it in a matter of months! no new laws or no new new limits needed.
they are not serious.....this is vote grabbing pure and simple!
 
starlite68 said:
if the government were really serious about taking drink drivers off the roads they could do it in a matter of months! no new laws or no new new limits needed.
they are not serious.....this is vote grabbing pure and simple!
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+1 :mad:
 
Sad to say but I know two mothers who are quite vociferous in their denunciation of drivers who drink just one drink and yet they both are on mama's little helpers. They both do the school run, daily shopping, pleasure trips.
 
annet said:
It beggars believe why people would drink and drive - it would never cross my mind but then I've seen the consequences! I wonder how many of those people who complain about the lowering of the limit would change their attitude if they were brought into an A&E, ITU, Ortho or Neuro unit, or they stopped off at a hospital morgue so they could see the full extent of injuries through a PM. The National Rehab in Dun Laoighaire...would teach them the reality!
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And what exactly was the cause of those accidents? was it people flamed off their head, people speeding, or people with 51mg in their blood system?
 
truthseeker said:
MrMan - are you saying that drink driving is a problem that doesnt exist?
Or that death by drink driving is a problem that doesnt exist?

Would you agree that drink driving poses a risk?

What about injury by drink driving - wonder how many peoples lives are affected - even if no death involved?
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Plenty of problems exist, its the exact nature of each problem that needs to be looked at. Road death fatalities caused by drink should be looked at and examined. If there is a medium to high percentage below 80mpg then of course there is a problem, but I would doubt if that were the case very much. If there is even one case that the driver had less than 80mpg in their system then other causes for the crash should also be looked at. If we keep blaming everyone for those that blatantly don't show any responsibility then we are missing the point.
I've spent so much time on the road in the last few years yet have only been checked once and that was outside a pub after a munstrer match, maybe its enforement we should look at first before we take any other moves.
 
According to today's Irish Times, South Cyprus has a limit of .9mg, and then Ireland, Britain, Luxembourg, Malta and Britain come in at .8mg.

Does anyone know what the penalty system is in those countries?

Do you get points?
Do you get put off the road?

Brendan
 
I am in favour of a reduction in the drink-driving limit (should be zero IMO) but I would far prefer to see the traffic cops put to more use than merely revenue-generation which is what is happening at the moment.

The Guards are more interested in enforcing unreasonable speed-limits on safe roads in order to generate fines etc than putting any meaningful effort into stopping people speeding and/or driving dangerously where it matters.

My brother-in-law was speaking to a German man about 6 months ago and the German asked him what the signs on the road for for "accident black spot" meant. When my BiL told him that it was to warn people that it was a dangerous stretch of road, the German replied "Oh ... in Germany we just fix it"
 
According to [broken link removed] -
"Drink Driving or Driving under the Influence of Alcohol

It is illegal to drive a car or motorbike - or even pedal bicycle - while under the influence of alcohol. A driver is considered to be driving drunk in Cyprus if:

  • The breath/alcohol level equals or exceeds 22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
  • The blood/alcohol level equals or exceeds 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.5 grams per litre)
A holder of a Cypriot driving licence could have from 3 to 6 points deducted from the licence for drink driving. The fine will be determined by the court. Foreign licence holders not living in Cyprus can be imprisoned or fined on the spot."

So it seems the IT may be in error regarding the Republic of Cyprus.
 
I know the issue of blood alcohol level has been discussed on the forum elsewhere, but the answers to that question are part of the justification. Most people would be under the impression that 2 pints are ok, when it is too variable for that to be an absolute rule.

Having the lower limits effectively introduces a built in safety factor between the 50 and 80. Hence the suggestion by the minister that between the two limits there would initially be points rather than court. It would mean that to be safer people would abstain or "just have one". The problem with the "just have two" idea is that in the main it rarely is "just two" (I accept anecdotal evidence).

From the media attention and the arguments put forward there and here I don't see any logical or rational argument against the new limits.

Will affect rural publicans? Probably, but the reality is public safety comes before their profits on this account. If it is such a concern aren't there measures they can use to attract people? Say providing a mini bus service? I know there are licences, insurance and driver training that are needed for this, but it could increase trade.

The argument about people still being over the limit in the morning somehow showing how unfair the system is a complete red herring. I don't care if you got a taxi home that night, you're still under the influence in the morning. I'm afraid your common sense at night doesn't justify a lack of common sense in the morning.
 
Personally I think you are better off having zero limit, why? Well because most of my friends etc always have the one, but like how do they really know its not already over the limit etc. Then you might say ah I will have just one more and then 2 is defo over the limit. so maybe just ban it see what happens..

but I agree I love to drink socialably and I think its a great gift to do this.. i.e. not getting hammered everyday you drink, to enjoy a few with friends etc.. Am I going off the point here?

FACT drinking driving kills, along with a lot more stuff, but we gotta tackle one thing at a time. My friend is a guarda, she said everyday she is pulling men out of their car hammered drunk... now that is disgraceful and yes in her case, she said its mostly men. She works in city centre area so catches a lot leaving work parties etc but said most of hammered
 
I'm finding it difficult to get Malta specific BAC information from the interweb, but in searching I came across this little gem from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website, http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/europe/malta

"Road Travel
... Caution should be exercised whilst driving as some roads are in a poor state of repair. ... Local standards of driving are poor.

In 2007 there were 14 road deaths in Malta (source: Maltese DfT). This equates to 3.4 road deaths per 100,000 ... and compares to the UK average of 5.0 road deaths per 100,000 ...." Only the Brits.
 
I'm struggling to see how any of the people on here can regard it as a vote grabbing exercise? Does anyone really think that it will actually gain votes? i'm as cynical as the next person (more so) but i can't for the life of me see this as a vote-grabbing exercise quite the opposite actually.

I'm personally in favour of a reduction but it wouldn't make me more likely to vote for the Government.
 
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