One in ten motorists has had a drink before driving

A TENTH of motorists have driven after consuming alcohol in the past year, according to a new report.

The research, which was commissioned by the Road Safety Authority, found that one in seven males admitted to getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming alcohol in the past 12 months, compared to around one in 16 women.

These stark statistics come as traffic chaos was expected to ensue for the Bank Holiday weekend with major Luas works being carried out in Dublin city centre.

The RSA report detailed that incidences of drink driving were most common among younger motorists as 16% of those under 24 said they had driven after consuming alcohol, up from 7% in 2015.

The over-65s were least likely to drink and drive, with 8% of them doing so in the past year.

Drink driving was more likely among those living outside Dublin (13%) than in the capital (6%), according to the survey which questioned 1,000 adults in January and February.

Seven out of ten people believe it is only safe to drive with no alcohol in your system. However, of those who had driven after consuming alcohol in the last year, a fifth had a ‘no alcohol’ limit before driving.

A tenth of people think it would be safe to drive after one drink, while 4% said it would be safe after two drinks and 3% believe it would be safe after three or more drinks.

Most people (87%) ‘strongly agree’ that driving under the influence of alcohol seriously increases the risk of an accident.

The RSA released the report yesterday as it issued an appeal for road safety ahead of the August Bank Holiday weekend. So far this year, 95 people have been killed in 88 fatal crashes on Irish roads.

This figure is 16 fewer than the same period last year, when 111 people were killed in 103 fatal crashes.

Last year two people were killed on Irish roads over the August Bank Holiday weekend, while there were 166 arrests for drink driving.

RSA chief executive Moyagh Murdock said: ‘We want people to enjoy the August Bank Holiday weekend, but if you are going out to enjoy a few drinks, please leave your keys at home and arrange alternative transport to ensure you get home safely.

‘Consuming any alcohol impairs driving and increases the risk of a collision.’

95 people killed so far in 2017