Joined-up thinking needed to solve rural drink-drive issue

Some rural TDs have been making their voices heard in the past week over the new drink-drive limits Transport Minister Noel Dempsey wants to see brought in. The minister is seeking to bring us into line with most of the rest of Europe when it comes to the amount of alcohol permitted to be in one's system when behind the wheel of a vehicle. It is quite incredible that, in the midst of the worst economic crisis of the past 50 years, that this has been the issue hogging the headlines last week as a group of uneasy Fianna Fail backbench TDs decided that this new legislation was somehow bad. One if left wondering what their reaction will be when the really difficult decisions have to be made in just over a month's time on budget day. The minister's proposal to reduce the drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg effectively means that, for most people, drinking a glass of beer or a glass of wine will be sufficient to put many motorists over the limit, although different factors will affect the figure, such as an individual's metabolism, the strength of the alcohol being consumed, the size and weight of the person. Nevertheless, it should act as a disincentive for most people to chance having any alcohol when they know they have to drive. Alcohol has been a killer on our roads ever since the first mass-produced cars began to appear here. But it is also true that it is not the only factor involved in causing road accidents - it can be strongly argued that speeding and dangerous or careless driving are even greater factors - but it is the cause most commonly cited by Gardai and county coroners as being the reason many people die in crashes. Greater Garda enforcement and widespread publicity campaigns have combined to help lower the rate of road deaths attributed to alcohol consumption, as has the growing availability of alternative transport options and the public's increasing willingness to use them. The controversy this week is not about whether lowering the limit is a good idea or not. Of course it is a good idea. Any measure the Government can bring in that will save lives is meritorious and deserves to be supported. In an analysis of fatal road accidents in Meath and the border counties in the three years to 2004, alcohol was the main contributory factor in nearly 60 per cent of those fatal crashes. However, the debate this week is essentially one about rural isolation. And that is why if the Government is serious about reducing the amount of alcohol people can legally drink before driving, as well as reducing the concerns of rural constituents, it is going to have to be inventive in the way it goes about it. Inadequate rural transport is a major bugbear of people who live in the countryside, even though excellent rural transport links such as Flexibus in Meath today allows people to travel to and from the major county urban centres during the day. However, taxis and hackneys are also far more widely available in all but the most isolated spots in Meath, so there are opportunities to get to and from rural public houses during the evening time, and, indeed, there are opportunities for perhaps newly unemployed people or those on short-time to set up a hackney service in areas not currently well-served by taxis or hackneys. However, the Government itself needs to go further. Everyone knows the pub trade is going through an acutely difficult time at present, with many premises now only opening at night to cater for patrons. It needs to be acknowledged as well that the Irish pub does have a unique place at the heart of rural Irish communities and needs the support of the people of its community to survive into the future. But publicans themselves also need to step up to the plate and be prepared to look at ways they can attract people to their premises and ensure they can get home safely again. The Government needs to incentivise publicans to invest in their own courtesy buses (as some pubs already have been doing off their own bat), perhaps by removing VRT or VAT on the purchase of vehicles to make it worthwhile for the publican to invest in this service for his or her customers. A way can be found around the current impasse if some fresh thinking can be brought to bear upon it, but it will involve everyone being prepared to change their way of thinking if we want to see the rate of road fatalities continuing to fall in this country.