Judge slams ‘just two will do ’slogan

December 1983

Speaking at Bunclody District Court last week, Justice Dermot Dunleavy criticised the current ‘Just two will do’ road safety adverts that are being run on RTE television and radio, and said that instead, drivers should not drink at all.

The adverts warn motorists that having more than two pints may put them over the drink driving limit, and they encourage people to call a halt to their drinking after just two pints if they intend to drive afterwards. Justice Dunleavy said however that he fundamentally disagrees with this message and that it will not be accepted in his court.

While he has no power to disqualify or fine somebody who remains under the legal limit after drinking just one or two pints, he said his warning would be particularly relevant when drivers who have previously been banned come before him again to seek restoration of their licence.

Currently, such applicants are asked to give an undertaking that they will not drive again if they feel they may be over the limit. In future, said Justice Dunleavy, he will instead seek a sworn undertaking that they will not drive if they have had any alcohol at all - ‘not even a spoonful of sherry trifle at Christmas’, he said.

He described the ‘ two will do’ slogan as ‘facetious’, and went on to warn that anybody coming before him in the New Year to face a charge of drunken driving over Christmas would be hit with a two-year disqualification and a fine of £200. This is double what he normally imposes on a plea of guilty.