Almost 40 per cent of motorists admit to drink-driving, according to a survey conducted for the National Safety Council. The poll of 500 motorists aged 17 and upwards also found that 51 per cent of drivers believe that motorists should not be allowed to drink any alcohol at all before driving.
The poll results were announced yesterday at the launch of the council's annual summer Arrive Alive road safety campaign.
Council chairman Eddie Shaw expressed concern that while the number of arrests for drink driving had risen in 2002 before falling somewhat in 2003, the number of convictions between 2001 and 2003 had dropped sharply.
There were 13,441 arrests in 2002 and 5,212 convictions but in 2003 the number of arrests was 11,344 while the number of convictions was 3,060.
The arrest figures for 2003 were "one arrest currently per licensed premises. Against that I'm saying that the number of convictions coming through the courts system in those last three years fell sharply. That's a problem," said Mr Shaw.
He pointed out that the medical bureau which tests blood and urine samples of those arrested found that in 90 per cent of cases drivers were over the limit while 60 per cent were double the limit.
Mr Shaw stressed that they did not want the increased Garda intervention to get more convictions. "We want the increased interventions to get increased compliance."
He said that in Victoria, Australia, with a driving population of three million, there were one million interventions but just 10,000 arrests. The interventions brought compliance, he said.
The phone poll, conducted by Lansdowne Market Research, also found that 86 per cent of respondents supported the introduction of random breath testing.
The survey showed that 87 per cent of drivers supported legislation to prevent learner drivers drinking at all and 90 per cent supported a zero limit for those who drive for a living. Such measures apply in Australia and Scandinavian countries.
June, July and August are the most dangerous times of the year for road traffic accidents and an estimated 4,000 people have died or have been seriously injured in the past five years during this period. The number of road deaths in this three-month period during the years 2000- 2004 was 517 or an average of 38 a month - statistically the most dangerous time of the year.
At the launch of the road safety campaign, the chief executive of the Irish Insurance Federation, Mike Kemp, urged the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, to introduce the legislation for random breath testing "as a matter of urgency" to assist gardaí in enforcement.
However, the Minister pointed out that one of the reasons for the low conviction rate was the challenge to drink-driving legislation.
Because drink-driving legislation was "the subject of regular scrutiny" in the courts, Mr Cullen said: "I do not intend to pursue any policy initiative in this area until I am satisfied that a more generally applied system of roadside testing provides clear potential for improving road safety on a sustained basis for the future."
Garda commissioner Noel Conroy said that "there is still a sizeable number who continue to drink and drive, and these drivers will be the focus of concentrated Garda enforcement over the summer months to rid us of the scourge of drink-drivers".
Since the beginning of this year 162 people have died on the roads compared with 146 for the same period last year. Those killed include 72 motorists, 35 passengers, 25 pedestrians, 25 motorcyclists and four pedal cyclists.
