Road Safety Authority chairman Gay Byrne has said he would opt for more enforcement of existing drink-driving regulations, over a move to reduce further the current blood/alcohol limit for drivers.
Commenting on what he said was an "awful" month for road crashes, Mr Byrne said December had seen "the wheels come off" the reducing trend in road deaths and serious injuries.
While the December experience was one of the reasons he said he was "extremely reluctant" to identify trends in road safety, Mr Byrne said new Garda figures "at least seem to indicate that during the Christmas period some people got the frighteners and decided not to take the chance".
The provisional figures released yesterday showed that in the week to Christmas Eve, 357 people were detected drink driving, while in the week from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve, this fell by almost one-sixth to 301 detections.
"The majority of drink-drivers are middle-aged fellas whom the gardaí say are not only a bit over the limit, but who are confident they know how much they can drink without being drunk, until to everyone's surprise when they are stopped they are way over the legal figure," said Mr Byrne.
However, Mr Byrne said additional action on enforcement should take precedence over reducing the drink-driving limit from the current 80mg of alcohol for every 100ml of blood.
The Department of Transport has asked the Road Safety Authority to advise on whether such a move is useful in the campaign against drink-driving and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey is expected to receive a report on the issue within weeks.
Maintaining that "you can do what you like with the limit, but it is not worth a damn unless it is enforced", Mr Byrne said if he was offered a choice he would opt for "five times" the current level of enforcement above any new limit.
Mr Byrne insisted that his call for more enforcement was no reflection on the Garda, who "do a fantastic job" but who, he said, should be given additional resources to mount checkpoints and catch errant drivers.
But even at current levels of enforcement, Mr Byrne said it was only a matter of time before recidivist drink-drivers are stopped and put off the road.
In a message to such drivers, Mr Byrne said: "It is almost certain you are going to get caught."
