THE sharp increase in the number of men in the 21 to 30 age group who have been detected drink driving is a cause for major concern for Limerick gardai.
That’s the view of Limerick Garda Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan who said that the number of drink driving detections has sharply risen in recent months and it is becoming an “area of concern given the number of fatalities on the roads this year.
“Unfortunately we have had 11 road fatalities so far this year in comparison with four for all of last year and while not all were associated with drink driving, the habits of a generation are changing and that can only mean a further increase unless it is curbed.
“We are one of the highest ranking divisions in the country for fatalities and that is not something we want or need.”
Chief Supt Sheahan said that the percentage increase of those “driving under the influence of an intoxicant is a going in the wrong direction statistically.
“86 per cent of Limerick drunk drivers are male and one-third of them fall in to the 21 to 30 age bracket with more than half aged between 20 and 40.
“You would have thought that the people of this generation would have learned the lesson given the era we have just come out of. Surely they would have realised that drink driving doesn’t pay?
“It is clear that our message just isn’t getting through and something needs to be done or we will see more deaths on our roads”, he said.
