According to a recent driver attitudes and behaviour study carried out by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) of Ireland, and published by the Irish Examiner on 10th November, out of the 1,000 motorists interviewed 11% admitted they had driven after drinking alcohol (and more than a third after consuming one or two drinks), and 40% of the people questioned admitted they thought it acceptable to break the 100 km/h speed limit.
Noel Gibbons, a road safety officer quoted by the Examiner, was disappointed with the results: one fifth of drivers could be potentially classed as “high-speeding rule violators” and the number of drink driving motorists is very high. “One drink might not affect you but it might affect somebody else,” Gibbons stated. “It depends on your body as well. If you’re tired, the alcohol will affect you more so, again. Our advice would be not to drink any alcohol when you’re driving.”
Other notable, if somewhat disconcerting, results of the survey are as follows:
• one in three drivers (31%) admitted they had spoken on handheld mobiles while driving;
• about 16% admitted to texting while driving and 7% said they checked apps;
• one in three drivers were also found to be speed-camera “manipulators”, driving more slowly only at speed camera locations;
• men, outnumbered women by more than two to one, and older drivers, particularly those over the age of 65, were the biggest culprits.
With a view to the approaching festive season we would strongly recommend not drinking and driving, but would also like to remind people who have had a drink to be very cautious the following morning as you can still be under the influence. We also urge drivers not to be tempted into breaking speed limits or using devices that might distract you from driving.
