A total of 35 motorists in Donegal were caught driving under the influence over the Christmas season last year.
It has been revealed that between 1st December 2016 to 8 January 2017, 35 people in the county were reported by gardai under suspicion of driving while intoxicated or under the effects of drugs.
Almost 1,000 drink-driving arrests were made in Ireland this holiday period, with Donegal having the joint-ninth highest figure in the country.
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald released the figures and said: “I am deeply conscious of the serious issue of road safety and mindful of the increase in 2016 of road traffic fatalities. I am also mindful of the traumatic impact of road traffic collisions on those directly affected and their families, as well as the impact of dangerous driving more generally on the quality of life of residents in local communities across the country.”
Ms Fitzgerald said that An Garda Síochána plan to bring in an additional 10% increase in the traffic corps during the course of 2017. She said that Ireland’s current Road Safety Strategy aims to place Ireland consistently on the list of safest countries in the EU and beyond.
Recent figures for Donegal showed that road deaths and collisions were on the up in the final six months of last year. In Donegal in 2016, there were 7 fatal collisions, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people. There were 15% more deaths from road traffic collisions in 2016 compared to 2015.
Donegal County Council last week issued the message that drivers should ‘cop on’ to road safety.
Brian O’Donnell, Road Safety Officer stated, “if you drink and drive or drug drive, you are an idiot. There are still people stupid enough to think that a short journey with a few drinks does not matter. One alcoholic drink will impair your driving. The stark reality behind the statistics is that drink driving does not happen by chance, drink driving happens by choice. We need to get the message to everyone, that before they get into a car, to stop and think, because the trauma and devastation that is brought on your family and on the local community as a result of a road traffic collision is totally avoidable”.
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