Kerry CC support permit system which allows rural people drink and drive

Going Forward wrote: »

His idea is off the wall, but:

The essence of what he said was fairly spot on: that he is unaware of any fatal or serious accidents on relatively quiet back roads caused by people with a few pints on board.

We have become hysterical in this country regarding drink driving, having all arrived at the general consensus that mature (40-65yrs) adults who are used to taking an occasional drink will be unable to control a car on a boreen (L road, max 4 miles from home, from a designated pub) at slow speeds (50kph) after drinking 4 or 5 units. (And the likes of Ray Darcy trying to get one up on him in a tantrum this morning makes Darcy look worse!)

People have done it for years on the back roads with little problems, we've all been stuck behind someone driving slowly, cautiously and nervously home- probably excersing more care than they do with their regular daytime driving.

Not much to date has been spoken of the sheer coincidence which is:
that these quieter current times as opposed to the wild Celtic Tiger years (as characterised by the general selfish, gung-ho attitude all round, including driving) have yielded a significant reduction in road fatalities.

Question: Is there a very high incidence of drink driving prosecutions in South Kerry? Are there constant garda stinger operations being carried out down there ?

If not what is the need for a permit / exemption from the law ?
I do not believe the ordinary pub going people of South Kerry are the targets of some campaign to destroy their way of life.
If all they have to save them from suicide is the pub then they have bigger issues than drink driving laws.

How are these permits to be issued? If being a resident is all that is needed to qualify then surely all of the boy racers and people who never use the pub will also be exempt.
Whether they can handle their drink or not is immaterial.

I imagine garda discretion is already used quite liberally in cases where they do stop someone. Its not really in the interests of a rural guard to alienate a good section of the community.If they stop some old duffer on his way home and he is legally over the limit but in control of his car chances are he'll get off with a warning.

I don't think it is a good idea to provide certain people with exemption from the law. Especially, when it would appear that you're relying on them to be self-regulating.

In other words what makes them so special ?

Its a pathetic thing to be lobbying about when there are pensioners freezing to death and unable to afford food.
I don't even know where the nearest hospital or amenity is to Kilgarvan
Likewise, I've no clue about the garda station but I'm guessing there isn't one in Kilgarvan

If the council really wanted to combat rural isolation they would work with local sports and community groups to rebuild a sense of community and provide services to the local residents.

He can use the pub as a social centre for these community events and make a few bob out of it for himself - which is clearly all that he is interested in.
He / they can do this without encouraging people to break the law or lead them to think that the law doesn't apply to them.

Irrespective of whether they've ever had an accident handing out exemptions is not going to end well.
The rural boundaries will keep getting revised and many more serious drink driving offences would end up being quashed.

Going Forward wrote: »

We have become hysterical in this country regarding drink driving, having all arrived at the general consensus that mature (40-65yrs) adults who are used to taking an occasional drink will be unable to control a car on a boreen (L road, max 4 miles from home, from a designated pub) at slow speeds (50kph) after drinking 4 or 5 units.

No we are not becoming hysterical. The idea that these elderly gents who drive after having taken drink, but are no harm to anyone in nonsense imo.

Take my father for example. As a young and middle aged man, he rarely drank. He worked 2 jobs all his life to take care of his family. He was far too involved with his family and charities and sports teams to be going down the pub with the lads. As a result, he never built up any tolerance of alcohol. He'd be termed someone who couldn't hold his drink. (I imagine it is the same with a lot of rural farmers who for most of their working lives were far too busy taking care of the farm to be regular pub goers. No? )

That all changed when my dad retired. He loved going to the pub of an evening, and becoming one of the local wise men. He was fine after one pint. At the end of pint #2, his speech became slightly slurred. At the end of pint #3 he'd become seriously drowsy. Give him even a drop of the hard stuff, and it was even worse. But could you tell him that he couldn't hold his liquor? No you couldn't because like most Irish men of a certain age and generation, you couldn't tell him a damm thing about the all the so called manly rituals of drinking. He was convinced that he was fine and was no threat to anyone. I loved my father dearly. He was a very, very good man, but there is no way in hell that would I want to come across him in a car on an unlit, country boreen, in driving rain and icy conditions, after he had had pint #3. No way !

This idea that elderly drinkers are harmless because they know their own limits, or that they can hold their booze, or that its no big deal coz all the driving is done on isolated roads is bull$hit imo. Sure there may be some of them that can drive safely from A to B after a few pints. But there is no way to judge it, and quantify it and separate the men from the boys, when it comes to alcohol tolerance levels & driving ability. Add in well intentioned but flawed men like my dad, their tolerance levels of alcohol or lack thereof, their age, the medications that they may be on that may react badly with alcohol, the impairment of sight and reflexes that affects us all as we get older, and I think that a very dangerous picture emerges.

That is not being hysterical. That is just adding up the facts as I see it, and coming to a conclusion that no one, ESPECIALLY THE ELDERLY should be getting behind the wheel of a car when they have drink taken. I can not for the life of me see how anyone can think that that is a good idea, ever. And no, I am not some urbanized Dub, who has no idea how bad the problem of rural isolation is. I have family members who live in very isolated parts of Ireland. I know all about how hard their problems are, but handing them a pint of Guinness along with the car keys is NOT the way to solve them imo !

They have just covered this on BBC breakfast with an interview with Healy-Rae. Looked like he was just there to confirm the stereotype of Irish being drunken idiots... He did that job very well.

CruelCoin wrote: »

Would you be ok with a ban on people driving who are bursting for a piss, have a cold/flu, are 80+ years old,

That is the same as asking "for those who would destroy the burgers cos they have a horse meat in them, would you also throw them if it was rats meat in them or ****e"

If drink driving was the same as driving when you are bursting or have a cold / flu maybe we should just ban driving all together!

Some of the arguments posted here really stretch the imagination!

What an effing surprise to find out that Healy-Rae is a pub owner. Un-****ing believable. "I want to put lives at risk to make a few quid". F*cking selfish c*nt.

I've got the answer I think. We should be allowed take a driving text while intoxicated. There could be different levels of an intoxicated license you could apply for. For example there could be the 5 pints in two hours license.
You'd obviously have to drink supplied pints in the test center over the course of the two hours. Then you'd take to the road as you would a sober test sitting.
If you pass the test, you are from then on allowed to drive for the rest of your life with 5 pints consumed within two hours. If you fail you could of course try again another Saturday.

The idea of treating depression from isolation with a drug which itself has depressive effects is particularly ingenious.

Another idea would be to just ban alcohol in this country and be done with it. Although I can't see that motion being passed by many TDs anytime soon.

Why can't people be more imaginative and find other activities that drink driving.