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Tag Archives: drink driving

Driver six times over drink driving limit drove wrong way on M18

A COUNTY Limerick woman has been put off the road for three years, having driven the incorrect way along the fast lane of the M18, while almost six times over the legal drink driving limit. Alexandra Kaninka of Bothar Buí, Ghleann Mhoir, Newcastle West, appeared before Ennis District Court, where she pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving and dangerous driving at Carrigoran and at Ballynacragga, Newmarket-on-Fergus, on March 6 last. Inspector Tom Kennedy, prosecuting, said the motorway has to be closed down to traffic after a number of calls were made to the 999 line of a car travelling the incorrect way along the fast lane of the M18. The court heard that the incident took place at 7.30pm. It was dark and cars had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with the defendant’s car. Garda Liam Reilly told the court that he met the defendant when he came upon her car parked to one side of …

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22% rise in drink driving detections

Clare’s Joint Policing Committee heard that there has been a 22% increase in the number of people caught drink driving in the county this year, with 27 more people detected under the influence. The issue of drink driving was relayed as “an area of concern” by Clare’s Chief Superintendent John Kerin, who told the committee that more young people are being detected now than in the previous 10 to 15 years. “It is a trend we are seeing country-wide. It is a worrying trend. What I’d be saying to them is you might get away with it one night, maybe two but you will be caught,” he said. Supporting this, he stressed that there were 13,572 breath tests conducted in the county so far this year, an increase of 48% on last year. Chief Superintendent Kerin said he will make no apology for this increase, as it saves lives. He said people might say that this is too many but he …

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Gardaí step up campaign against drink driving

FOLLOWING an intensive Garda campaign to curb drink driving over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the rest of the month will also see specific 24 hour operations. From July 29 to August 1 inclusive, 165 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid confirmed in a review of the weekend on our roads. “Twenty-one people lost their life on our roads in July, the highest of any month this year so far. Two people lost their life and there were eight serious injury collisions over the bank holiday weekend. We urgently appeal to every road user to take extra care on the roads and realise you have a personal responsibility when you get behind the wheel. Slow down, wear your seatbelt, put the mobile away and in particular, never ever drink and drive.” The Garda chief noted of the 108 deaths on our roads so far this year, 24 were passenger. Before …

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Drink driver to seek ‘nice woman’ in Lisdoonvarna

Lisdoonvarna Matchmaker Willie Daly could be facing an unusual challenge in September. A Kerry bachelor farmer, convicted of driving with excess alcohol, will not be put off the road until he has an opportunity to “find a nice woman” at the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, who could drive him around. John O’Shea, aged 60, of Derrinadin, Mastergeeha, had previously pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol at Tarmons, Waterville, on July 25, 2014. Mr O’Shea’s  solicitor John O’Dwyer, son of the famous Mick O’Dwyer, reminded the court in Cahersiveen that “football had been his downfall on the day.” On the date of the offence, he had gone to Waterville for animal feed for his cows and ended up talking about Kerry’s performance in the Munster Final, forgetting to eat and drinking too much, hitting the ditch on the way home in what was a single vehicle accident. The blood-alcohol reading was 198mg so the offence carried a three-year penalty, the court …

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Drink driving warning for St Patrick’s Festival

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Síochána are asking all road users to act responsibly and safely on the roads over the St Patrick’s Day festival period. In particular, drivers are being warned of the dangers of driving the morning after a night of drinking where their driving could still be significantly impaired by alcohol. In the five year period 2011-2015 a total of 15 people lost their lives and a further 34 people were seriously injured in road collisions between March 16-18. Ms Moyagh Murdock, chief Executive of the RSA said, “St Patrick’s Festival is traditionally a time for people to enjoy a break from work, school or college, and enjoy the festivities around the country. We’re not suggesting that people don’t enjoy themselves but we would urge people to act safely and responsibly, particularly when it comes to alcohol and road use. If you decide to go out for the night, leave the car at home …

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Christmas drink driving arrests down 66%

THERE was a drastic drop in the number of drink-driving arrests in Clare over the Christmas period. Arrests for suspected drink-driving were down by over 66%, down from 17 in 2014 to five in 2015, according to figures from Clare Garda Traffic Corps. There were also falls in the number of non-serious injury traffic incidents in the 12-day period, down from six in 2014 to two in 2015. The number of material damage only traffic incidents also decreased from 34 over the Christmas period of 2014 to 23 in the same period last year. There were no fatal traffic incidents in the holiday period for 2015 and 2014, as well as no serious injury incidents recorded. Sergeant Darragh Molloy of Ennis Garda Traffic Corps stated, “The gardaí are very pleased with the figures for the recent Christmas period, showing a downward trend in road traffic accidents and drink-driving arrests. This is very welcome to see and is due to the …

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Gardaí join European campaign on drink and drugs driving

Police Officers across Europe begin a week-long campaign on Monday to raise awareness of the dangers of drink driving and drug driving. The campaign is co-ordinated by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network), and involves officers conducting alcohol and drug checks at any time of the day and night. TISPOL President Garda Chief Superintendent, Aidan Reid said, “Driving after consuming any alcohol is dangerous. Driving while over the drink drive limit is against the law. Drivers will experience slower reactions, poor judgement of speed, reduced co-ordination and concentration with much lower levels of alcohol in their system. “That’s why our message this year is simple: your ability to drive safely is impaired by even a small amount of alcohol. So if you have had a drink, do not drive. If you need to drive, then do not drink.” Chief Superintendent Reid said it’s also important to be aware of the continuing effects of alcohol the day after an evening of …

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70 ‘Drunk Driving’ Arrests in Clare this Year

Eleven people were arrested on suspicion of drunk-driving in County Clare over the June Bank Holiday weekend, bringing the total number of people to have been arrested on suspicion of drunk-driving in Clare since January to 70 people. Speaking about the level of drunk-driving in the county, Clare’s Chief Superintendent, John Kerin said the 11 arrests over the June Bank Holiday weekend represent an increase of 17%, or 10 arrests, for the crime on last year. “One might say 10 isn’t an awful lot but there are still 70 people now arrested in Clare in the first five months for drunken driving. It was 60 this time last year and 11 people driving over the legal limit in a week in a county like Clare is significant and it’s worrying,” he said. He added that what made the figure all the more stark was that some of those people detected were caught at various times of the day. “One person …

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