a) The Law in Ireland

b) Alcohol And Your Body


The Law in Ireland

The legislation dealing with road safety in Ireland is the Road Traffic Act 1961. This law has been updated over the years and following the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 2006 the Gardai now have even wider powers to reduce and eliminate the offence of drink driving.

The introduction of the new powers has made it much more likely that anyone driving under the influence of alcohol in Ireland will be detected and prosecuted by the Gardai.

Rules

	The offence of driving a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle.
	The offence of driving a vehicle in a public place while there is a concentration of alcohol in your blood exceeding 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
	The offence of driving vehicle in a public place while there is present in your body a concentration of 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.
	The offence of driving vehicle in a public place while the concentration of alcohol in your breath exceeds 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

What is mandatory alcohol testing and how does it work?

Mandatory alcohol testing means random breath testing. The Road Traffic Act 2006 allows the Gardai to breathalyse drivers of vehicles without having formed an opinion that a driver has consumed alcohol.

The power can however only be exercised at checkpoints which have been authorised by a Garda Inspector. These checkpoints are specifically designed for the purpose of mandatory alcohol testing. The Gardai can stop any car, truck, motorcycles, scooters, or electric bicycles and may ask the driver of the vehicle to do the following :

	Provide a specimen of their breath by exhaling into a breathalyzer.
	Accompany the Garda to a place at or near the checkpoint to provide by a breath specimen, or
	To leave the vehicle at the place where it has been stopped.

Anyone who refuses or fails to comply immediately with the above is guilty of an offence.

Offences under Section 49(2), 49(3) and 49(4)

The most common type of prosecution for drink driving is under the following sections for driving when a person exceeds limits for blood/alcohol, urine/alcohol or breath/alcohol.

The Garda must prove that a person drove a vehicle while the concentration of alcohol in the blood exceeded 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, section 49(2), or 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine, section 49(3) or 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath section 49(4).

Proof of the concentration of alcohol in the case of section 49(2) and 49(3) is given by a certificate of analysis from Medical Bureau of Road Safety. In the case of a prosecution under section 49(4) the concentration is proven by a statement printed from an intoxilyzer, a machine designed to measure alcohol in the breath.

What Happens I am arrested for drink driving ?

When arrested at the roadside for failing a alcohol breath test, the Garda informs you in ordinary understandable language that you are being arrested for the offence of drink driving. You will be brought to a local Garda Station where you will be informed of your rights by a member in charge of the station. You will be asked for a sample of blood; urine or breath specimen.

When you provide a sample of blood or urine the sample will be divided into two containers and sealed. You will offered a sample and the other sample will be sent to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for analysis. The results of the test will be sent to you and the Garda concerned. You have your own sample independently analysed if you wish. If the alcohol level is shown to be over the legal limit the Garda will summons you to appear in the District Court to in realtion to the offense of drunken driving.

If you give a sample of breath the intoxilyser machine will give two print outs of the level of alcohol in your breath. You will be offered a choice of either read-out to retain for your record and the other will be used by the Garda in court. If you are below the legal limit then that is the end of the matter. If you are over the legal limit you will be summonsed to court to answer the charge of drink driving.

Penalties for drink driving offences

Penalties on conviction of drink driving will vary depending on the amount of alcohol that has been detected in your system. Another factor the court will take account of is whether the offence is your first offence or otherwise. All convictions for drink driving carry a mandatory disqualification from driving.

From 5 March 2007 (through the Road Traffic Act 2006) the disqualification periods for drink driving convictions increased significantly as set out below:

The above penalties are minimum penalties and the judge has the discretion to increase these penalties if so desired. Since 2007 the fine for drink driving was increased to a maximum of €5,000.

Drink Driving Statistics

Additional Infromation

	Alcohol was a contributory factor in 36.5% of all fatal crashes in 2003
	Weekends through to Monday morning (the morning-after effect) is the killing zone for alcohol related fatal crashes.
	Alcohol was a factor in 62% of single-vehicle, single-occupant fatal crashes
	The number of intoxicated arrests since the 1st August 2006 to the 31st October 2007 is 24,255.
	389 drink driving incidents were recorded by the Gardai leading up to St Patrick's Day 2008.
	18,000 people were arrested for drink driving offences in 2006.
	Slightly over 1000 people were arrested for drink driving over Christmas 2006
	12,450 drivers were breathalysed at Garda checkpoints over the August bank holiday weekend 2006. of those tested 116 of tem were arrested.
	The Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006 wants the drivers of one in four vehicles to be breathalysed at least once a year.
	Ireland is one of the few European countries to have a driving limit of 0.08% BAC. The majority of other European countries have a driving limit of 0.05%.
	One in five (21%) fatal road crashes that happen between 6AM and 12 noon are alcohol related .

Alcohol And Your Body


The Effects of Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant that is quickly absorbed into the blood stream and affects body functions over an extended period. Many people believe that coffee, food or a shower will calm the effects of alcohol, this is however untrue as it has been proven that only time will eliminate alcohol from the body.

The Effects of Alcohol On Driving

Alcohol is well known to have dangerous and often fatal effects on persons driving skills. Drivers under the influence of alcohol often misjudge there capabilities to drive, some of the effects include:

	Slower reaction times – a decreasing ability to react quickly to a potentially dangerous situation.
	Vision –eye movement and perception are seriously impaired
	Tracking – a person’s ability to see hazards on the road and maintain a correct position on the road is seriously impaired.
	Driver concentration – a person’s ability to focus on driving decreases after consuming alcohol, coupled with drowsiness that can occur after consuming alcohol.
	Comprehension –Alcohol can seriously affect a person’s ability to make rational decision in how they drive.
	Coordination - the ability to drive can be seriously hampered by persons reduced eye/hand/foot coordination

How Does a Breathalyser Work

When alcohol enters the blood through our alimentary canal (mouth, stomach, and intestines) it is distributed through every part of the body including the lungs. As the blood passes through the lungs a quantity of alcohol passes through the alveoli (tiny sacs of air in the lungs). This quantity of alcohol that passes through the alveoli is proportionate to the amount of alcohol present in the blood. By using a breath testing device it is possible to measure this quantity of alcohol that passes through the alveoli, and consequently calculate the persons BAC (Blood alcohol concentration). The ratio of breath alcohol to BAC is 2,100:1, in simple terms every 2100 millilitres of breath will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 millimetre of blood. For this reason it is necessary for a test subject to blow into the Alcologic for at least 7 seconds so that a sufficient deep air lung sample is obtained. Failure to do so may result in an artificially low reading. Before you use a Breathalyser, make sure to read the full instructions carefully for proper use. Never drink and drive – the only safe level is zero!

Effects of alcohol on the body : Alcohol intoxication

The users of a breathlyser should be aware that a digital reading of BAC does not give an indication of alcohol intoxication. A person is said to suffer from alcohol intoxication when the quantity of alcohol the person consumes exceeds the individual’s tolerance for alcohol and produces behavioural or physical abnormalities. In other words, the person’s mental and physical abilities are impaired. The effects of alcohol intoxication on each individual vary greatly among users depending on a number of variables, for example metabolism, age, sex, weight and even altitude and temperature. It is for this reason that some users may become intoxicated at much lower levels than others, and a perceived safe reading on a breathalyzer in % BAC does not mean that the person’s mental and physical abilities are not impaired. The majority of countries in the European Union consider a reading of 0.08% BAC or higher (with some members such as Ireland preparing to lower the level to 0.05% BAC) to be unsafe to drive a vehicle and therefore doing so is punishable by law. This does not mean that driving or operating machinery at this level is safe. Never ever drink and drive the only safe levels is zero!

The Morning After

How long after drinking is it safe to drive? Many people think that when they get in their car 'the morning after' they will be safe to legally drive, but this is very often not the case.

It’s all about timing

Almost one in six convicted drink-drivers are prosecuted the morning after drinking. The length of time it takes for alcohol to be absorbed in to the body varieties depending on the person. On top of the time given you need to add an hour as this is how long it takes for alcohol to be absorbed in to the blood stream. The times below are only rough guides. It takes about an hour for your body to rid itself of each unit of alcohol, but it can take much longer. It depends on factors including how healthy you are and how much you’ve eaten. Eating a big meal means alcohol is absorbed more slowly - so it takes longer to sober up.

Consider this:

	Drink 5 pints of Heineken and you can’t drive for at least 10 hours from finishing your last pint. If you finish at midnight, you aren’t safe until after 10AM the next day.
	Drink four 70ml double of spirits you can’t drive for 13 hours – that’s 1pm the next day if you drank your last double at midnight.
	Drink just three 250ml glasses of wine - and you can’t drive for 13 hours - 1pm the next day if you finish at midnight.