Drink drive warning to ladies who lunch

Ladies getting together for lunch – who enjoy a tipple or two with their food – have been advised by Gardai that they could be over the limit if they drive afterwards.

The temptation to ‘have a second one’ or to say yes when offered a ‘top-up or two’ could end up putting up the lunchtime tipplers over the limit and losing their licence.

A senior Garda warned at a recent meeting of the Galway Joint Policing Committee that ‘anyone on the road’ – regardless of the time of the day – had to tune in to the concept of not mixing drinking and driving.

Chief Superintendent Tom Curley said that he wanted to heighten awareness of casual social occasions – such as a group of women getting together for lunch – and the consequent risks of driving afterwards.

“We just want a greater awareness and alertness in relation to having a casual drink or two and then driving. The simple rule of thumb is, that if you are having a social drink, to plan ahead for a taxi or a lift,” said Chief Supt. Curley.

He said that worryingly there were still about 35 arrests every month for drink driving offences in the Galway area with some disturbing trends emerging.

“More young people seem to be reversing the trend of recent years by drinking and driving while a significant number of drivers are testing positive during morning and daytime hours.

“In that context we want to advise all motorists to be always conscious of any alcohol in their system, whether that be women or men out for a casual lunch or people who have consumed large amounts of alcohol the night before,” said Chief Supt. Curley.

Noel Kelly, Regional Traffic Superintendent for the Western Garda Region, told the Galway City Tribune, that wine was quite a strong drink with one glass potentially putting a woman – or man – over the limit.

“There are social occasions and lunch meetings where wine will be served and consumed. We just want people to get the message that if they are having a glass of wine with their meal, to have their transport organised in advance – if not, don’t touch it.

“The clearer we can draw the line between never, ever mixing any drink with driving, the better for everyone and the safer our roads will be for everybody,” said Supt. Kelly.

He said that the consequences of a drink driving detection for motorists was not worth the risk given the disqualification period, the fines, reputational damage and the difficulty subsequently in getting insurance.

“And far more seriously if a drink driver is involved in an accident involving serious injury or a fatality, the consequences are catastrophic for everyone. There is just no recovery from that,” said Supt. Kelly.