Ireland Takes Step To OK Drunk-Driving?

By Cornelius Nunev


Despite the fact that drunk-driving is known to be a deadly activity, Garda (police) authorities in Ireland's Kerry region may quickly let modest drunkenness slide. A ballot motion before the national Department of Justice, if approved, will allow drunk-driving, so long as the driver is only "moderately drunk." Kerry region legislators in southwest Ireland have already authorized the measure by a vote of 5 to 3, with 12 absent.

Passes for individuals who drive drunk

Councilor Danny Healy-Rae explained that older residents in rural Kerry county get worried that they will lose their driver's licenses over one or two drinks, and then they fear depression as they are remote at home. This is why Healy-Rae drafted regulation that gives a pass to people who are found driving drunk.

"I see the merit in having a stricter rule of law for when there's a massive volume of traffic and where there's busy roads with massive speed," Healy-Rae told Irish newspaper The Journal. "But on the roads I'm talking about, you couldn't do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour and it's not a big deal. I don't see any big issue with it."

Suicide watch tempered by rum

Healy-Rae said that there are a lot of older members locally who are committing suicide since they are unable to drive after getting hit with a DUI. Isolation is a big issue in the area.

"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that they had is being lost as a result," he said.

Not a great plan to some

Kerry Mayor Terry O'Brien holds a very different view of the county's drunk-driving legislation, saying it "doesn't make any sense" and is "incredibly dangerous." O'Brien also claims it places too much interpretive burden on barkeeps to determine whether a patron is only somewhat drunk, versus severely impaired.

"I don't know what expertise one would have to look at someone in a bar to give them a permit to drive a car after any alcohol," O'Brien added.

There has been a 42 percent decrease in Ireland's road deaths during the last four years due to drunk-driving laws. All that would be undone with a brand new law allowing it, according to Alcohol Action Ireland rep Conor Cullen.

"Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland are alcohol-related," Cullen said. "Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability - any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash."




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