Atricle: Drink driving crackdown in run up to Christmas

Seth Brundle

from www.breakingnews.ie/2005/12/08/story234095.html

08/12/2005 - 12:21:23

Gardaí will be mounting high profile checkpoints this weekend in a major clampdown on drink drivers in the run up to Christmas.

Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock vowed gardaí would be targeting accident blackspots in a bid to stop people driving under the influence of drink or drugs and speeding.

“Our enforcement is going to be ramped up and up and up, until such a time as we force the compliance culture, no matter what we have to do we have to force people into a better compliance culture,” the assistant commissioner at the Garda Traffic Corps said.

“That is in relation to the drink driving, the penalty points and the dangerous driving.”

The assistant commissioner said visible garda checkpoints would be mounted on roads and in areas with high accident rates.

“This will commence in the lead up to Christmas which is a particular time again of the year which causes tragedy for so many families,” he said, on the crackdown which will run in conjunction with a campaign from National Safety Council.

Mr Rock said there was a significant increase of 50% in the number of people arrested for drink driving on the October Bank Holiday weekend.

“There is an increase in drink driving and we are again trying to create the compliance culture,” he said.

Mr Rock said there would be 240 officers in the garda traffic unit next year - a 50% increase in resources.

“So it is not a question of resources, but it is a question of personal behaviour by people out there and it is a question of them acting responsibly,” he told RTE Radio.

“Now I know the vast majority of motorists are very, very compliant. But it is the small percentage of people, not just in relation to the drink driving but in relation to the downright bad behaviour on the roads, who are creating the problems on roads, and creating the deaths on roads and such hardship and trauma and torment for families.”

He warned people should not be growing less concerned about acquiring penalty points on their licence for behaviour on the roads.

Mr Rock said the check-points were also taking into account the times when drink driving was taking place.

“Indeed, we are talking about 80% to 85% of the drink driving arrests between 9pm and 6am. So that is where we are focusing our resources,” he said.

So it will be like last year and I won't see any checkpoints!
not that I'll be drinking & driving anyway!

seamus

:rolleyes:

Assistant Garda Commissioner Eddie Rock vowed gardaí would be targeting accident blackspots in a bid to stop people driving under the influence of drink or drugs and speeding.

Ah yes, St Loman's Road and the South Quays. Roadways of doom if ever I saw them :rolleyes:

At least they are trying something slightly different this year. But I am under no illusions that they will fail yet again to prevent carnage

ballooba

There was some sort of checkpoint at the end of my road at lunchtime today. Half way up Appian Way. Guard on the lane travelling towards ranelagh had pulled over an obviously unroadworthy lorry.

Seth Brundle

ronoc wrote:

At least they are trying something slightly different this year. But I am under no illusions that they will fail yet again to prevent carnage

I can't really see anything different. They issue a statement to frighten people into not drink driving but don't follow it up with any enforcement. Wait and see I guess and hopefully I'll be proven wrong!

Gary ITR

I was driving back to dublin from gorey late on saturday night a few weeks back. Just before arklow we saw a crash, a punto had just been minced into the central reservation and it looked bad. We spun back over the flyover to check if they were ok. The car had one girl on her own pissed as a fart, she was grand but the car was wrecked so we gave her a lift to gorey. On the trip back to gorey she was really annoying me, screaming down the phone at her friends then she opened a can of beer she'd had in her pocket so i sad feck it and brought her to the cop station. After I told the guard the story he said 'and what do you want me to do about it?' just typical. It was only when another garda car pulled up at the station his attitude changed

ciarsd

Onkle51 wrote:

I was driving back to dublin from gorey late on saturday night a few weeks back. Just before arklow we saw a crash, a punto had just been minced into the central reservation and it looked bad. We spun back over the flyover to check if they were ok. The car had one girl on her own pissed as a fart, she was grand but the car was wrecked so we gave her a lift to gorey. On the trip back to gorey she was really annoying me, screaming down the phone at her friends then she opened a can of beer she'd had in her pocket so i sad feck it and brought her to the cop station. After I told the guard the story he said 'and what do you want me to do about it?' just typical. It was only when another garda car pulled up at the station his attitude changed

that is really f*&K!N€ frustrating to hear - sure why would ye not drink n drive if thats the attitude. These people must think that the odds are in their favour to get into a car and drive after a couple of drinks.And as for the Garda...

Gary ITR

Tbh the garda annoyed me much more than she did although if it wasn't for the wire barriers on the n11 myself and my two friends could have been killed or worse still my car could have been damaged........:D

lazylad

Onkle51 wrote:

I was driving back to dublin from gorey late on saturday night a few weeks back. Just before arklow we saw a crash, a punto had just been minced into the central reservation and it looked bad. We spun back over the flyover to check if they were ok. The car had one girl on her own pissed as a fart, she was grand but the car was wrecked so we gave her a lift to gorey. On the trip back to gorey she was really annoying me, screaming down the phone at her friends then she opened a can of beer she'd had in her pocket so i sad feck it and brought her to the cop station. After I told the guard the story he said 'and what do you want me to do about it?' just typical. It was only when another garda car pulled up at the station his attitude changed

Absolutely typical!! Scandalous so it is!!!!
There on the N11 just before the roundabout outside Enniscorthy there was a lad going 90 mphs went straight into a couple comin from dublin. Killed them .

No point in puttin up signs sayin stop carnage or slow down!!!