Drink Driving

[muppet]

http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats

The above stats are for teens in the US so, on one hand you have inexperienced drivers, but on the other they mostly drive automatics.

You are 23 times more likely to crash if you text while driving. That is some statistic.

[finbar o tool]

its fair to say that drink driving is drink driving. no matter what the variables, - how far over the limit you are, whether 2 pints affect you different than me, what speed you travel etc etc. whether you had 2 pints or 20. it shouldn't be done.

however the reality of rural life is different. someone mentioned the youth of today are more likely to adhere to the rules than older fellas. this is true. take for example a 78 year old man, who has been driving 6 miles every single Saturday night for 60 years to have a few pints and drives home. and he never in all that time as much as forgot to indicate, let alone speed or drive dangerously. it would be very hard to convince that man to get a taxi in and out of town.
im not defending it or condoning it, but that is very much reality in a lot of rural areas.

ill tell you what though, i think it might make a difference if a victim impact statement like that was sent to every household in the country, once every few months. i don't care who you are, you cant read a statement like that and not be affected. especially if you have young children. and no matter whats said on this thread, its good to talk about it.

[Keyser soze]

Had a look at that report and the claim that the top cause of fatality is drink driving, which I have frequently heard before. However there seems to ba a lot of analysis and comment of the other factors such as road type, age, seatbelt use etc but zero in terms of drink driving. If there are so many fatalities caused by drink driving this does not seem to correlate with cases brought by the police for causing these.

There is usually an accompanying media profile of such cases, to the best of my recollection these types of prosecutions happen once or twice every year, in fact I can't recollect the last time I read about one. Maybe the media aren't picking up on all these cases or I am missing them, or the police aren't prosecuting them, or the drink drivers are the actual fatlities, but there certainly doesn't seem to be a correlation between the claimed number of drink related fatalities and the number of people being prosecuted for them.

Are there stats available for causation?

[Orior]

http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats

The above stats are for teens in the US so, on one hand you have inexperienced drivers, but on the other they mostly drive automatics.

You are 23 times more likely to crash if you text while driving. That is some statistic.

Any stats for smoking weed?

[andoireabu]

Heard a story from a friend once about a mate of his who was out a night and had a few beers.  Got up the next day and was feeling a bit less than 100% so took a walk to the local garda station and asked to be breathalysed.  The guards said no, that they can't do a test unless someone has been brought in after being suspected of drink driving.  So instead of knowing for sure whether he was able to drive or at least have a guage of how long to wait, he was sent away to maybe take a risk. 

[muppet]

http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats

The above stats are for teens in the US so, on one hand you have inexperienced drivers, but on the other they mostly drive automatics.

You are 23 times more likely to crash if you text while driving. That is some statistic.

Any stats for smoking weed?

I need volunteers.

[LeoMc]

Had a look at that report and the claim that the top cause of fatality is drink driving, which I have frequently heard before. However there seems to ba a lot of analysis and comment of the other factors such as road type, age, seatbelt use etc but zero in terms of drink driving. If there are so many fatalities caused by drink driving this does not seem to correlate with cases brought by the police for causing these.

There is usually an accompanying media profile of such cases, to the best of my recollection these types of prosecutions happen once or twice every year, in fact I can't recollect the last time I read about one. Maybe the media aren't picking up on all these cases or I am missing them, or the police aren't prosecuting them, or the drink drivers are the actual fatlities, but there certainly doesn't seem to be a correlation between the claimed number of drink related fatalities and the number of people being prosecuted for them.

Are there stats available for causation?

General Lee had a link to an article giving the breakdown of "roles" of those killed on NI roads in the past 2 years.
Of 136 deaths 80 (59%) were drivers or their passengers (mainly drivers) whilst 24 (17.5%) were Motor-cyclists or their passengers. 32 (23.5%) were cyclists or pedestrians.
These figures are for all fatalities, not just those where drink was a factor. If we consider the high % of single vehicle crashes you could well be right.

Alternatively I could be putting  & 2 together and getting 5.

[Bazil Douglas]

Cike, regardless of scientific theory on alcohol and its effects, and the effects are undoubted, any attempts to quantify how much quicker it makes people drive is based on supposition.

My argument is based on fact. Every person who drives a car over the speed limit has simultaneously increased their chances of killing another human being. Unfortunately, as every person who has car has also driven it over the speed limit, it's one of those subjects that people don't want to make taboo; it makes them feel all wrong when it's pointed out to them that they're being reckless and would have no recourse if this led to killing someone. Well I'm asking the world to wake the duck up. Speeding is the single biggest problem on our roads. It's the one that always ends lives, and 100 times out of 100, it's preventable.

Tony, you've decided to pull an emotional card when it's not yours to play. Perhaps me and you could spend the rest of our lives swapping stories found on the internet, with you raising me a drink driving story and me re-raising a speeding story? Actually let's not. We both know it's neither an enjoyable argument nor one that can be won.

I disagree.
The biggest problem on our roads are poor driving standards, both North & South of the border.


Its very easier for a Govt to make it look like they are doing something about road safety by throwing out the line that "Speed Kills" and by throwing a few speed cameras around the country.
It isn't as easy (read that as "it costs more") for the Govt to address the primary problem of driving standards. There are people on the road that simply cannot drive to an acceptable standard. The testing/ licensing system is just not thorough enough.

If both Govts were genuinely committed to reducing road deaths they would be pumping money into driver training and education from an early age.

Your absolutely right driving standards are atrocious north & south gone are the days of care courtesy & consideration, most drivers would rather cut you up  than give way.Theres very little driver awareness or hazard perception out there now.
As a part time HGV driver I have noticed drivers using mobile phones,reading documents,eating & drinking while steering with their knees, while all these are contributory factors in accidents the speed at which the vehicle is travelling usually determines life or death ( 3 points of contact rule)
Over almost 30 years I have attended hundreds of RTAs or RTCs I have lost count of the casualties and fatalities, nothing shocks me on the roads anymore. Its like a game of Russian roulette, I think its almost 60 peple have died on the roads this year already.
Until  governments tighten regulations, penalties, &  driving accessments there will be many more stories like Gillian Treacys.

[ONeill]

Manys a man has thought he's invincible after a session and drove home, especially in your 20s/30s.

Some times it takes a good friend to take the keys off you.

[laoislad]

A 40-year-old man who was convicted of dangerous driving and causing the death of a young Laois boy has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Finbarr O'Rourke, of Laurel Drive, Portlaoise was also convicted of drinking and driving.

Passing sentence Judge Keenan Johnson described a victim impact statement provided to the court by four-year-old Ciaran Treacy's mother, Gillian Treacy, as the most powerful, upsetting and vivid he had ever read.

The judge paid tribute to Mrs Treacy and the message her words would send to anyone who drinks and drives.
Passing sentence on O'Rourke Judge Johnson paid tribute to the emergency services and the gardaí for the speed in which they arrived at the accident.

"I don't believe there is a single person who heard that statement who wasn't moved by it," he said.

"In the blink of an eye the Treacys' beautiful family life was shattered." 

The judge said anyone who drinks and drives or has been convicted of drinking and driving should read the victim impact statement in this case and following that should ask themselves how would they cope if they found themselves in the position in which the accused found himself in today. 

Judge Johnson said it is fair to say that over the past 25 years there has been a sea change in the attitude of the public towards drunken drivers, and for most people it is no longer socially acceptable to drink and drive. 

An enormous amount of work has been done by the Road Safety Authority, including a campaign with shock advertising that is broadcast on prime-time television and has been a considerable success, he said.

Nevertheless, he added, the campaign must continue and be intensified to send a message to those people who still persist in drinking and driving or think that drinking and driving is not a serious offence that this is clearly not a sustainable or justifiable position.

Mrs Treacy told reporters she hopes that the sentence handed down today to a drunken driver will send a message to drivers all over the country.

She said the family was devastated by the loss of their child and he would never be forgotten. 

She was speaking to reporters after a statement read by the family solicitor who said: "The Treacys are living the nightmare that every parent dreads.

"They are an ordinary hard working family whose lives have been changed forever.

"Words cannot express their anger their grief or their revulsion towards the drunk driver who robbed Gillian and Ronan of their beloved son and Caoimhe and Sean of the brother they deserved but now will never have.

"Those feelings will not outweigh the love and cherished memories of Ciaran which sustain them through their darkest hours."

The statement said: "The family want to acknowledge the Court's verdict and the sentence handed down which they hope will act as a warning and a deterrent to others."  

[Tony Baloney]

I'm surprised that manslaughter isn't considered over death by dangerous driving in the most serious cases.

[Asal Mor]

It's a tragic case but I'm not sure about the sentence. The judge was obviously moved by all that the family have been through, and it's unimaginable, but I don't think O' Rourke is any worse than lots of us who would have driven home in similar states of drunkenness(feeling invincible as O' Neill said). A mandatory two week prison sentence for anyone who drinks and drives would be a good idea imo, rather than treating it as a minor offence unless you're unfortunate enough to hit someone. If someone drinks ten pints and drives, the rest is just down to luck.You see people with multiple drink driving convictions get far lesser sentences and imo that's unfair. This man has to live with what he did as well and his suffering must be beyond comprehension too.

[finbar o tool]

i dont mind the sentence.
i just wish they would hand out harsh sentences for all crime! not letting some rapist or child molester off with a 2 year sentence or suspended sentence.

be consistent.

[illdecide]

I would love to know how O'Rourke feels and did he make any statement after being sentenced. Did he show remorse? Has he written to the family asking for forgiveness? Is he sorry for what he done? the Treacy family will always be haunted with this to the day of their grave but how will O'Rourke be and his family...

I know if i was stupid enough to do something like that i don't think i could live with myself, i'd be looking the judge to throw away the key to the cell

[deiseach]

"O'Rourke made no response as Judge Keenan Johnson handed down the sentence at Portlaoise Circuit Court", according to the Indo.