BETWEEN a quarter and a fifth of motorists questioned in the Na tional Health and Lifestyle Surveys admitted to drink-driving.
Some 22 per cent of car-owners said they had driven soon after consuming two or more alcoholic drinks. A significantly higher proportion of men reported doing this than women, 31 per cent to 13 per cent respectively.
Mr Conor Faughnan, AA's public relations manager, said the figures highlighted the need to improve the enforcement of laws against drink-driving, the second biggest killer on the roads after speeding. "There is still a perception that the levels of enforcement are only serious around Christmas.
"It has been shown the way to convince people to change their behaviour is not so much generating a fear of being involved in an accident but a fear of being caught. The detection rate is not widespread or universal enough at the moment to create that fear."
He said the priority should be to establish a dedicated Garda traffic corps which would police drink-driving and speeding regulations. The survey found a higher rate of compliance with seat-belt regulations. Some 82 per cent of respondents said they always or nearly always wore a belt in the front seat of a car. Among children, however, only 41 per cent reported they always wore a seat belt. In this regard, there was a significant gender difference, with 46 per cent of girls reporting compliance compared to only 35 per cent of boys.
In relation to cycling helmets, only 8 per cent of children reported that they always wore one when on a bike. The rates of use were lower among older age groups with 16 per cent of cyclists aged 9-11 wearing a helmet, compared to 7 per cent within the 12-14 years bracket and just 3 per cent in the 15-17 age bracket.
