How often are you being breath tested?

GalwayKiefer

I drive a good bit for my job and seem to meet a tax/insurance checkpoint at least once a month but have only ever been breath-tested once. It was on Merchant's Road approaching Eyre Square in Galway at 1.30am. The Gardaí out near my home house (countryside) have clamped down big time in the last year or so from what I hear. Watching the local pubs and pulling drivers over that have come out of them. Seems to have had a good effect though as I have a few uncles who used to "have a few and be grand" :mad: but now won't chance it because they know they've a good chance of being caught. Personally I wouldn't even have 1 bottle of beer and drive.

jfk0410

I've been stopped 3 times over the last 3 years the last being on Saturday night last.

I don't drink so am out driving late at night after nights out, I haven't been tested in over 12 months, was tested 3 times in 4 months when the random testing was first introduced.

Signpost

I wont say weekly but near enough! Would def be over 20, most likely nearer 50. Prob the whole young male, encridibly attractive etc etc thing but a pain in the hole all d same. Personal record is 3 times bagged in 11 mins - May bank holiday weekend. For anyone who knows the area was stopped coming from town to Supervalu side of town at tesco roundabout. Waved on all old people in front of me, saw me, didnt even check tax insurance and out with bag. Unsurprisinly as I dont drink drive I passed. Went to tesco and banklink was out of order. Went up towards supervalu to go to bank link there and pulled in at roundabout again, exact same scenario. Went from there back to go back to town and opposite side of road to original bagging the other cop on duty done it again. Told him it was 3rd time in 5 mins and he said I had "the option to refuse to give it and be arrested or give it and see what happens". Its a total game by the cops to look good. O we bagged x amount of people and 80% failed so drink driving is on the way out because of our valiant effort, They tend to neglect the fact that over 50% of them are prob used on same person every two nights!

jape

I agree with the OP, absolutely no point reducing the limit if there's no proper enforcement, and actually according to that coroner in Donegal, Dr. John Madden, the level of alcohol in drivers involved in fatal crashes where alcohol is a factor is on average four times the legal limit. That's 3.6g of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Reducing the current limit from 0.8g to 0.5g won't make a blind bit of difference to safety, apart from generating revenue by breathalyzing people the morning after.

And in fairness Dr. Madden has a lot more experience in this area than some of the self-righteous "ooh ooh it should be reduced to 0.0g bla bla" clueless gobsh1tes.

POGAN

hey guys

im driving 14 months or so now been tested 17 times 20 times by the end of the year

great to see the gardas out doh

TestTransmission

POGAN wrote: »

hey guys

im driving 14 months or so now been tested 17 times 20 times by the end of the year

great to see the gardas out doh

you've been breathalysed 17 times in 14 months?

SV

POGAN wrote: »

hey guys

im driving 14 months or so now been tested 17 times 20 times by the end of the year

great to see the gardas out doh

you know you'll be tested 20 times how?

Tordelback

Six times for me, all in the past two years. I drive home to D24 after midnight from work in Dublin city centre in a commercial vehicle, and I got stopped on the Leeson St -Ranelagh leg (once), Rathmines-Rathgar road (twice), the Rathgar-Terenure road (once) and the M50-Tallaght leg (twice). I've been pulled over to non-breathaliser checkpoints at least as many times again over the past 10 years.

Happy to say I don't drink and drive at all, so it's not been a problem. The only bit that annoys me is watching taxis get waved through ahead of me.

feb09

Once in the last 3 years.
60k miles mostly Dublin area

triple-M

never been tested once while driving my own cars in the last 4 years (all passats) but the minute I collect a civic for my mate while he was away i get pulled over breathalised and the car gets searched for drugs and concealed weapons,felt quite offended actually,:rolleyes:

KamiKazi

Twice in the last seven years

joolsveer

I have been driving for 34 years now and I have never been breath tested.

deman

In the 12 years I was driving in Ireland I was breath-tested once, and that was in the North by the RUC after a night out. I'd had one pint and passed the test easily.

I've been living in Finland now 11 years and have been stopped randomly by Finnish police at various times of the day from first thing in the morning to last thing at night in total about 15 times. And I've passed every one of them.

Pete67

Just once in in 25 years, pulled out of the car park of my local where I'd been at a family gathering at around midnight, was followed for 1/2 mile by an unmarked and then pulled over. Good job I don't drink, think Guard was a bit disappointed, made a show of checking the tax/insurance etc when the breathalyser read zero. All fine too, so got a 'good night sir' from him eventually.

Tony Danza

Never. In fact I've never been pulled over or asked to show my license to anybody (insurance company or a garda). In fairness I drove very little, rarely at night, and I've not been driving that long (maybe 4 or 5 years) and most of that I didn't have my own car, so drove even less. Now I'm not even in Ireland and don't have car.

Tony Danza

Actually I lived with a guy that had a really pimped out Honda civic. Remember telling me he had the car about a year at that time and reckons he got stopped about 50 times (about once a week on average), wonder how many times he got breath tested. I think he said he was at one of the cruises and got stopped 8 times that night alone. In fairness he was a complete boy racer (I was in the car with him before, drove like a lunatic) and he had a few points on his license. I can understand why he was getting pulled over so often. He had gotten a Skyline last I talked to him! :eek: