Report Summary:Testing drivers for intoxicants at the scene of a collision should be introduced urgently – the evidence is overwhelming!
Ireland has a chronic drink driving problem. The most recent evidence supporting this fact is presented today by Dr. Declan Bedford at an International Road Safety Conference hosted by the Road Safety Authority.
1,015 people were killed in 995 crashes in the three years to 2005
According to Dr. Bedford’s research;
• 1 in 3 crashes were alcohol related
• In 1 in 4 crashes the driver had consumed alcohol
• 1 in 4 pedestrian deaths related to their own alcohol intake
• 325 people lost their lives in alcohol related crashes
• The research confirms that weekends through to Monday continues to be the high risk period for alcohol related fatal crashes
• 1 in every 2 alcohol related crashes occur on Saturdays and Sundays
• 2 out of every 3 alcohol related crashes occur between 10pm on Friday night and 8am on Monday morning
• In 1 in 3 crashes either no test for intoxicants was taken or results were not available
PARC calls on the Minister for Transport to delay no further in implementing the reduction of the BAC level.
The survey of public attitudes carried out by PARC in March this year, the biggest ever undertaken, found that 99% of the public would support a lower limit. Indeed, 57% voiced a preference for the “effective Zero” approach.
PARC is also calling on the Minister to honour his publicly stated pledge to introduce on the spot breath testing of those involved in road crashes. This pledge was made exactly one year ago and was supposed to be introduced within six months.
For victims of road crashes, particularly alcohol related crashes, this is unacceptable and
this life saving measure should be introduced without further delay.
Mandatory/Random Breath Testing DOES NOT apply to accident scenes!
On 21st July 2006 Mandatory alcohol testing came into effect, giving Garda the power to stop anyone without having the slightest suspicion whatsoever that alcohol had been consumed and automatically test that driver for drink.
Yet at the scene of a road traffic collision where innocent victims are losing their lives or being seriously injured, the Garda are not given this power-they can only test after they have first formed an opinion that alcohol has been consumed. On many occasions it is difficult for Garda to confidently make a decision that a person is unfit to drive through alcohol, unless impairment is so evident that the person is virtually inable to stand.
Drink driving doesn't happen by accident, it happens by choice. If people would remember that when they decide to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking then the consequences will be no accident...
Alcohol gives a driver a false sense of confidence and impairs their;
• Reaction time
• Co-ordination
• Judgement of speed, time and distance
• Concentration
Drinking and then driving significantly increases the likelihood of being involved in a crash. An even small amount of alcohol, well below the legal limit, increases the chances of an accident.
Drink driving kills not only the drivers who have been irresponsible enough to drink and then drive but also their passengers and other innocent road users - including pedestrians and cyclists.
The combination of consistent publicity campaigns, stiffer penalties and more and better-targeted enforcement would result in most people regarding drinking and driving as a dangerous selfish and socially unacceptable activity.
PARC welcomes the RSA's proposal to reducing the acceptable alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg. This will save lives, as a lower limit would send out a general education message and set the tone for no drink and driving.
However a lower limit should not be introduced in isolation but as part of a wider package of drinking drive measures, including education and enforcement initiatives.
Currently drivers who fail a roadside breath test have to be taken to a station for a second test because roadside breath test results are not admissible evidence in court.
In Northern Ireland and England Police test drivers who have committed a road traffic offence or been involved in an accident. It may be opposed on the grounds that it interferes with the civil liberties but their argument to that is that drink drivers also affect the civil liberties of everyone else.
In Ireland Gardai have to form an opinion that an intoxicant had been consumed before they have the power to test a driver involved in a collision. Drink driving is such a serious offence that it justifies giving the Gardai wider powers. International road safety expert Fred Wegman, director of the Dutch Safety Research Institute, was commissioned by the RSA to examine Ireland's progress on road safety up to the end of 2006. He has made a number of recommendations, which have been factored into the upcoming strategy. Many of the proposed changes will require legislation and a new Road Traffic Bill is expected next year in 2008.
Mr. Wegman stated that the discretionary power given to the Gardai at the scene of an accident whether anyone should be tested or not, should definitely be removed, adding that this is a very specific culture element in Ireland.
31st January 2008- PARC & Alcohol Action Ireland - drink drive limit survey
On the 16th October 2007 the Irish Government agreed to reduce the drink-driving limit from the current 80mg of alcohol for every 100ml of blood.
At present Ireland, the UK and Malta have the highest permitted alcohol level in the EU at 80mg. All other countries have limits of 50mg to zero.
The RSA are currently considering what blood alcohol level is most appropriate for the republic.
PARC and Alcohol Action have conducted a survey to find out what level the public considered the most appropriate for the republic. This was a totally independent survey which will be carried out throughout Ireland. We will be conducting it in secondary schools and on the streets meeting the public face to face. For more information please contact Susan Gray email: susan@parcgroup.ie.
The Science Behind Never Ever Drink and Drive
Scientific evidence clearly shows that important driving skills are impaired at very low blood alcohol concentrations. At half the legal limit, drivers are twice as likely to have a collision and at the legal limit, drivers are six times more likely to have a collision.
Dr. Declan Bedford, a specialist in public health with the HSE who has researched the role of alcohol in fatal crashes in 2003 found that "Any amount of alcohol impairs driving, so there should be no acceptable level." His research also discovered that almost a quarter (22.5%) of drivers killed were under the legal limit when they died.
Many drivers believe they are safe to drive if they are below the legal limit. This is a mistake. The risk of being involved in a crash increases in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed, in other words the risk of loss of vehicle control and of collision increases exponentially with BAC.
“Just one drink impairs driving”. The skills most critical to driving-the brains ability to observe, interpret and process information from the eyes and other senses- is impaired by alcohol at the lowest levels that can be measured reliably. (Moskowitz, H. and Burns, M. Effects of alcohol on Driving Performance. Alcohol Health and Research World. Summary 1990)
A further review of 112 scientific studies in April 2000 revealed that at under 1/8 of our legal limit of 80mg / litre of blood both basic Driving Skills and Divided Attention ability were found to be impaired in half or more of the behavioural tests. Given the evidence of this level of impairment of crucial driving skills Professor Moskowitz confirmed in July 2001 “There is no BAC level at which impairment does not occur”.
Between 1/8 and ¼ of our legal limit, impairment of Wakefulness was found, producing Drowsiness in impaired drivers.
At under ¼ of our legal blood alcohol limit drowsiness was not the only impairment. Also impaired is the driver’s ability, for instance, to steer within lane limits while monitoring the driving environment; and to process information i.e. the time taken to read signs and respond to traffic signals and making decisions.
Probably the greatest danger of that first drink is that it impairs our ability to assess our own competence to drive. After one drink you may not feel intoxicated and may believe you can drive safely. This is due to your brains impaired cognitive processing ability at low blood alcohol levels. This is why the RSA advert says “Before you decide to drink and drive, take a look at the decisions you may be forcing on others.”
At 1/3 of the legal limit our vision is showing impairment as is to our ability to make multiple responses.
At under ½ of our legal limit alertness and perception skills are beginning to show impairment.
By ¾ of our legal limit Tracking skills were impaired in half or more of the tests.
Driver involvement in fatal crashes does not start at our Legal Limit. It builds steadily from BACs at one eight of our Legal Limit. This research demonstrates that low BAC’s are a danger factor. Professor Moskowitz says “Crash rates increase with any departure from zero BAC” (“Epidemiology of Crashes at Low BAC” )
The Morning After
Researchers at Queens University and the University of Ulster proved the dangers of counting units and trying to calculate personal BAC by the hour. In their 2004 study they showed that memory and psychomotor functions were impaired on the morning after heavy social drinking, despite blood alcohol levels of zero or very near zero.
Mc Kinney, A. and Coyle, K. Next Day Effects of a Normal night’s Drinking on Memory and Psychomotor Performance, Alcohol and Alcoholism.”
What can we learn from these studies?
- Never Ever Drink and Drive
- Every drink impairs driving
- Every drink increases the risk of collision
- Just one drink before you drive increases the risk of death and injury for yourself and other road users
What must change in Irish society as a result of this information?
At present we are getting mixed messages about drink driving. The legal limit is set at 80mg / litre while at the same time we are told never ever drink and drive. Does this make sense? We think not. We must have a zero tolerance to drinking and driving therefore we need much more visible and rigorous enforcement by the Gardai. About 80% of Irish drivers believe that there should be more roadside testing. The 2003 SARTRE 3 Study showed that 57% of Irish drivers were in favour of a zero alcohol limit.
July 2007- More gardai get training to use roadside breathalysers.
In 2005 there were only 40 roadside breathalysers in use throughout Ireland. Since random breath testing came in, that figure has now risen to almost 500.Since the traffic Corps get precedence for any breathalyser over the local garda station for use in their random check points and given the fact that a garda can only detain a driver at an accident scene for 1 hour before administering a breath test,are the chances of being tested after an accident any greater today?
In May 2007 some 3,700 Gardai were trained to use roadside breathalysers, less than one in four of the 13,100 garda force.
A breakdown of how many Gardai - including the 920 members of the traffic Corps- are engaged in drink driving enforcement is not available from An Garda Siochana at present.
Data obtained from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety(MBRS) also shows that the number of roadside breathalysers in use had increased to almost 500 by May this year, compared with just 40 at the end of 2005.
The MBRS also said that in the 12 months to May 2007 some 267 gardai were trained in the use of the station-based intoxilysers, bringing to 2,019 the number trained in the use of this equipment. There are 64 machines across the Republic.one
However the MBRS has also revelaed that more than 450 gardai are now awaiting training in how to operate station-based intoxilysers.
Roadside breathalysers are used as an indicator of whether a driver is over the limit. For a prosecution, a driver must give a blood sample, urine sample or breath test using a station-based intoxilyser.
Head of the MBRS professor Denis Cusack said a number of training programmes for the station-based intoxilysers had been deferred this year, due to the additional workload created by the introduction of random alcohol testing.
Garda Representative Association president John Egan said more gardai need to be trained in the use of the intoxilyser.
He said he was aware of instances where a driver arrested on suspicion of drink driving was taken to a garda station but there was not a garda trained in the use of an intoxilyser available.
PARC have been told by leading solicitors in drink driving cases that they have got clients off a drink driiving charge due to the fact that their test was not carried out within the 3 hour time limit.
Professor Cusack said An Garda Siochana has not made a request to increase the number of station-based intoxilyser machines.
PARC Survey 2006
A year after it was set up in response to road deaths in Co Donegal, the Public Against Road Carnage group wants drivers involved in all road traffic collisions to be breathalysed.
1. If someone loses their life in a road traffic collision they are automatically tested for drink and drugs during their autopsy and yet this rule does not apply to the driver who may have contributed to their death. It is left to the discretion of Garda whether surviving drivers are tested.
2. Gardai vehicles are not equipped with breathalysers. Only 40 breathalysers in use in the republic at the end of 2005!
3. In March 2007 there are as few as 12 breathalysers in Donegal and at least two of these are for Traffic Corps.
4. Many breathalysers are located in Dublin waiting for distribution but there are problems with 'calibration' due to lack of personel.
5. Approximately one fifth of Gardai are trained to use breathalysers. A certificate is required by any Garda before he has the power to do a preliminary roadside test.
6. When it is necessary to test a driver at the roadside but an apparatus is not available, Gardai have only one hour to obtain a breathalyser, as this is the maximum period that a person can be required to remain at that place.
7. There are only 64 intoxilyser machines in stations throughout Ireland.There are 700 stations.Only 4 intoxilysers exist in Donegal Garda stations, Letterkenny, Glenties, Donegal and Buncrana.
8. Approximately one fifth of Gardai are trained to use these intoxilysers.
9. Gardai have three hours to complete both the preliminary test and secondary test carried out either at the Garda station or in hospital.
10. Two alcohol readings are taken in the station; the lowest reading is then reduced by 17.5%. Gardai have informed us that they are aware that in some cases drivers are well over the limit but these drivers who initially fail random roadside breath tests for alcohol are walking free after passing a more 'forgiving' test back at the Garda station.
11. Doctors have informed PARC that they are continually called into stations to take blood samples because Gardai are not trained to use the intoxilyser machine and each call out charge is €200. They are also aware of many RTA's arriving in their hospital where the driver has consumed much alcohol but doctors are not being requested to test by taking a simple blood/urine sample!
12 There are 700 Garda stations throughout the republic of Ireland but 300 of these are without a patrol car.
