Some 10 per cent of motorists admit that in the past year they have driven the day after a night out while possibly still over the legal blood-alcohol limit.
According to a recent AA Ireland survey, three per cent of people said they had travelled with someone who they believed was over the limit in the past year. Sixteen per cent said they “weren’t sure” if the person was over the limit or not.
Anna Cullen from AA Ireland says many people associate drink-driving with this idea that someone goes on a night out, drinks alcohol and then drives home.
“But, people might get up for work early the next morning and think they are okay to drive a vehicle, when they more than likely are not. They are not aware of the dangers posed by driving the next day while still over the limit.
“Everyone breaks down alcohol differently, and the time to bring a person back under the legal blood alcohol limit will vary. Nothing helps process the alcohol faster, only time.
"Our advice is simple: if you feel hung over, do not get behind the wheel. Wait or use alternative transport.”
There were previous proposals by the Road Safety Authority to publish details online of drivers disqualified by the courts. This was originally suggested to discourage potential road traffic offenders and reduce re-offending, by making the list publicly available.
In AA Ireland’s survey, motorists were asked if they supported the introduction of a live register naming those found guilty of drink-driving offences. It says 42 per cent “strongly supported” the introduction, while 34 per cent “somewhat supported” it. Nineteen per cent did not support, while five per cent “absolutely” did not support.
When asked if it would affect their driving behaviour, 69 per cent said naming and shaming would not affect behaviour because they “never drink and drive anyway”, while 19 per cent said it would affect their driving behaviour. Some 12 per cent said “maybe”.
Further research was undertaken by the RSA to test the feasibility and potential effectiveness of this approach. According to the agency, there was minimal evidence to support the introduction of a register of all disqualified drivers. Despite this, the agency said there might be merit in considering such a register for commercial vehicle drivers specifically, which could be accessed by employers. A specific action has been developed in the new Government Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 on this.
