Regardless of the fact that drunk-driving is proven to be a dangerous exercise, Garda (police) authorities in Ireland's Kerry region may soon let reasonable drunkenness slide. A ballot motion before the national Department of Justice, if passed, will allow drunk-driving, so long as the driver is only "moderately drunk." Kerry region lawmakers in southwest Ireland have already authorized the measure by a vote of 5 to 3, with 12 absent.
Driving drunk not punished anymore
Drivers in rural Kerry region who are found to have more than the legal amount of alcohol in their system will be given a pass, according to motion author Councilor Danny Healy-Rae. Healy-Rae reportedly drafted the regulation with older rural citizens in mind who will become isolated at home and suffer depression if they have to fear losing their driver's license over "two or three drinks."
"I see the merit in having a stricter rule of law for when there's a massive volume of traffic and where there's busy roads with massive speed," Healy-Rae told Irish newspaper The Journal. "But on the roads I'm talking about, you couldn't do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour and it's not a big deal. I don't see any big issue with it."
Suicide watch tempered by whiskey
Isolation in rural Kerry region villages is apparently a significant issue. Healy-Rae point to the tragedy of losing members of the older generation to suicide, as the lack of freedom from not being able to drive due to downing a couple of pints are supposedly crushing.
"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that they had is being lost as a result," he said.
Many experts
The legislation will not get past Kerry Mayor Terry O'Brien though. He believes it would allow people to get severely drunk instead of just moderately drunk and then drives a vehicle. This is very dangerous, he believes, and they would like to stay away from the problem whenever necessary.
"I don't know what expertise one would have to look at someone in a bar to give them a permit to drive a car after any alcohol," O'Brien added.
There has been a 42 percent decrease in Ireland's road deaths in the last four years because of drunk-driving laws. All that would be undone with a new law allowing it, according to Alcohol Action Ireland rep Conor Cullen.
"Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland are alcohol-related," Cullen said. "Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability - any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash."
Driving drunk not punished anymore
Drivers in rural Kerry region who are found to have more than the legal amount of alcohol in their system will be given a pass, according to motion author Councilor Danny Healy-Rae. Healy-Rae reportedly drafted the regulation with older rural citizens in mind who will become isolated at home and suffer depression if they have to fear losing their driver's license over "two or three drinks."
"I see the merit in having a stricter rule of law for when there's a massive volume of traffic and where there's busy roads with massive speed," Healy-Rae told Irish newspaper The Journal. "But on the roads I'm talking about, you couldn't do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour and it's not a big deal. I don't see any big issue with it."
Suicide watch tempered by whiskey
Isolation in rural Kerry region villages is apparently a significant issue. Healy-Rae point to the tragedy of losing members of the older generation to suicide, as the lack of freedom from not being able to drive due to downing a couple of pints are supposedly crushing.
"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that they had is being lost as a result," he said.
Many experts
The legislation will not get past Kerry Mayor Terry O'Brien though. He believes it would allow people to get severely drunk instead of just moderately drunk and then drives a vehicle. This is very dangerous, he believes, and they would like to stay away from the problem whenever necessary.
"I don't know what expertise one would have to look at someone in a bar to give them a permit to drive a car after any alcohol," O'Brien added.
There has been a 42 percent decrease in Ireland's road deaths in the last four years because of drunk-driving laws. All that would be undone with a new law allowing it, according to Alcohol Action Ireland rep Conor Cullen.
"Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland are alcohol-related," Cullen said. "Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability - any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash."
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