INISHOWEN had a clean
record over the St Patrick's Day holiday with not a
single arrest for drink driving.
While the statistics showed a slight rise nationally
in drink-drive arrests, the peninsula bucked the
trend this year. There were no arrests for drink
driving on the Patron Saint's day itself nor were
there any for the three-day period from March 16 -
March 18.
Meanwhile, the downward trend continued last weekend
with just one DUI (driving under the influence)
apprehension from Friday, March 25 to Monday, March
28.
This year's figures compare favourably to the two
drink-drive arrests on March 17, 2010 - also lower
than previous years.
An Inishowen Garda spokesperson said the downward
trend was "very welcome".
"We had a number of regular checkpoints throughout
Inishowen over the St Patrick's period as well as
four mandatory alcohol testing (MAT) checkpoints.
"The reduction in drink driving arrests is very
welcome and we will continue to operate checkpoints
in order to maintain this trend," said the
spokesperson.
While a definitive reason for the drop in drink
driving is difficult to ascertain, anecdotally the
recession, fewer cars on the road and more people
socialising at home, are seen as contributors.
Assistant Garda Commissioner John Twomey said 11,651
drivers were breath tested at mandatory checkpoints
over the St Patrick's Day celebrations.
This was a 32% rise in the numbers tested compared
with the same period in 2010. A total of 37
motorists were arrested at these MAT checkpoints
with a further 230 drivers caught through Garda
patrols - a national total of 267. This was 30 more
than in the same period last year.
Overall, Gardai locally and nationally are happy
that, despite an increase in the level of random
breath testing, there were 40% fewer detections. |
