Never EVER drink and drive.
That’s the message that every single Irish person has seen or heard at some point in their lives, but unfortunately, some have yet to take heed of this very simple message.
How do we know this fact?
Well, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) have revealed some worrying statistics today regarding the amount of people in Ireland that have been charged with drink driving so far this year.
Keep in mind that as of today (March 11) we’re only 70 days into 2015.
According to the RSA: “1,250 – the number of people charged with drink driving so far this year.” 1,250.
We’re not maths geniuses, but that works out to be nearly 18 people being charged with drink driving EVERY SINGLE DAY so far this year.
Shocking. Worrying. Disgusting. Call it what you will, but there is absolutely no excuse for driving while over the legal limit.
1,250 people were charged with drink driving so far this year. There is no excuse for this. Listen & RT #WeeklyStats http://t.co/VQav6K20JB
— RSA Ireland (@RSAIreland) March 11, 2015
Here are the existing legal limits here in Ireland, via RSA.ie:
The legal limits for fully licenced drivers in Category B are:
- 50 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.05)
- 67 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine or
- 22 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
The legal limits for professional, learner and novice drivers are:
- 20 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood (0.02)
- 27 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine or
- 9 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
And here’s a look at the various penalties for those caught driving over the legal limit, via RSA.ie:
“For drink driving offences, the disqualification periods range from 3 months to 6 years depending on the level of alcohol detected, and whether it is a first or subsequent offence.
“The offence of refusing to provide a sample of blood, urine, or breath for evidential purposes will attract an automatic disqualification of 4 years for a first offence and 6 years for a second or subsequent offence.”
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