PRESS RELEASE

DATE: 23 October 2009
SOURCE: HSE

The HSE today (Friday 23 October 2009) urged the Minister for Transport, Mr Noel Dempsey TD to introduce the pending Road Traffic Bill without delay

“This is a very important piece of legislation which will save lives by reducing serious road collisions', said Dr Joe Barry, Chair of the HSE's Alcohol Implementation Group. 'Delaying the enactment of this legislation will cost lives and increase pressure on hospital services.”

“This is not an issue of rural Ireland versus urban Ireland”, continued Dr Barry. “Existing legislation in relation to drink driving has saved rural and urban lives, young and old and has reduced permanent disability brought on by drink driving. Further reduction of the legal level will save more lives. We urge members of the Oireachtas who are opposing this life saving legislation to think of the significant number of deaths and disabilities associated with drink driving. Majority public opinion is in favour of the proposed legislation.”

'The message is - if you drive, don't drink and if you drink, don't drive', said Ms Catherine Murphy, Assistant National Director for Health Promotion with the HSE. 'A blood alcohol level of 80 mg% is not compatible with that advice.  The sooner the legislation to reduce the limit is introduced and implemented, the more lives will be saved.”

At the current legal limit in Ireland of 80mg/100ml a driver is 6 times more likely to be involved in a crash.  The World Health Organisation has called for all countries to reduce their legal limits to 50mg/100ml or lower. Ireland is one of only three EU countries with legal limits above 50mg/100ml. The United Kingdom and Malta are the only other two countries with legal limits higher than 50 mg/100ml. Drinking any amount of alcohol impairs a driver’s ability to drive safely. There is strong evidence from the international literature that reducing the legal limit will act as a deterrent to drinking and driving. Other countries that have reduced the legal limit have seen a significant fall in deaths and injury. Any amount of alcohol impairs driving.  The risk rises more steeply when the blood alcohol level reaches 50 mg/100ml.

Drink driving is still a serious issue in Ireland.  Research undertaken by the HSE has shown that alcohol is a contributory factor in 1 in 3 fatal crashes and that one in two drivers killed on the roads, where a blood alcohol level was available, had a blood alcohol level of 50mg/100ml or higher.

The HSE would again remind people to never drink and drive and to drive safely over the Bank Holiday weekend.

More Information:

Dr Joe Barry, Chair of the HSE's Alcohol Implementation Group is available for interview.

For more information please contact:

Mary Gleeson

HSE National Press Office

01 6352840 / 087 6914197