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It’s taken many years and thousands of horrific TV ads, but I think we’ve finally got to a place where drink-driving has been well and truly demonised. Not so in Ireland — they’re actually going the other way, and want to make it ok to go for a spin after you’ve had “two or three drinks”.
Councillors in County Kerry recently voted for a bill that would allow police to issue permits to people in isolated areas, allowing them to drive while “moderately” sozzled. According to the councillor who introduced the idea, this isn’t some cunning plan to kill off Ireland’s farmers, but rather for their own good:
“A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there’s no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night in and night out, because they don’t want to take the risk of losing their licence,”
While I take the councillor’s point — it’s pretty tragic to be stuck at home, and not able to drive to the pub, have a few, and drive back — if I lived in the area, I wouldn’t fancy being crushed to death by a drunk driver.
Thankfully, the issue has to be considered by the Minister for Justice before anything further can happen. Still, where else in the world would you get this kind of motion but Ireland? [The Journal via Gawker]
Image credit: Drink drive from Shutterstock
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This only reinforces my opinion that most councillors have shit for brains, and have no place interfering with civic affairs. The very nature of the job just seems to attract the wrong type of person!
Couldn’t agree more. Round my way we have shit for brains counsellors trying to twin the borough with a town in bloody Palestine!
And why the bollocks haven’t the Irish thought of car sharing and designated driving before? Rotate the driver behind the 4×4 and suddenly all the farmers in the county can get drunk in town and get back with a sober driver.
No need to change the law, just change your habits. It’s not feckin’ rocket science, you dumb bloody councillors!
And they couldn’t just go to the pub and have a few shandy’s?
Drink driving is not acceptable. I don’t care about the state of public transport.
Get a designated driver, a lift to the pub or even drive to the pub and walk home. When you are drunk, you care not of walking distance.
Walking when drunk? I travel by unicorn.
Ha! Even better!
Would this apply though, because horses and unicorns are close;
“Pursuant to Section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872, it is also an offence to be riding a cycle or to be in charge of any carriage, horse or cattle when drunk.”
Busted
Could it be that walking drunk on ice poses greater threat?
Their reasoning was that the suicide rates of older people are rising because they’re unable to drive while drunk and they’re becoming isolated as a result.
What the fuck.
How is it that a community says “Oh, you’re drunk and lonely? That’s fine, you can drink drive.” but doesn’t say “STOP FUCKING DRINKING YOU CHODES, THEN YOU CAN SEE YOUR FRIENDS.”
glad to hear YOU dont care about states of public trasport, some of us do. yes you can always walk home but what if its over 10miles? which it probably is if the council discibe it as ‘isolated rural areas’. i know i aint walkin 10miles after a few drinks at half 3 in the mornin, dehydrated from drinkin larger or whatever! i live 5 minutes away from my local which seems like an hours walk after a few, imagin 10miles!
im not sayin its acceptable as there are dickhead drivers out there and under the influence they are maximum dickheads. but what about safe drivers? only last few years they have cracked down on drink driving to the point they are now questioning one pint! before that it didnt mater as long as you wasnt drunk… whats changed? have drinks grown strenth in past years? dont think so…. the driving test has got harder (young people are more likly to drink and drive), which means their more experinced than we where when we first drove drunk when back then it wasnt a massive deal as long as you could i dunno, walk in a staight line or any of that shit. and yet there you are commenting asif having a few is a big deal. its not at all. its just counsellors realising the same thing, no drinks havent got stonger, yes we used to be allowed to have a few, yes the younger drivers are more experienced nowadays….WHY NOT EY?
First of all, I am not saying I don’t care about public transport at all. I cannot drive. I get the bus to an from work everyday. I get trains about the country a lot too. In fact I care about the state of public transport rather a lot.
What I said is supposed to show that I do not care what state public transport is in, it could be amazing, buses every 5 minutes and always on time or a slow broken piece of junk every hour, it does not warrant the need to legalise driving even after “just a few” drinks.
I believe it is a bad idea because it will not be “a few drinks”. People will see it as an excuse to drink more and make all sorts of claims about how they didn’t know the strength of the alcohol, they didn’t feel drunk when they left and the sort.
The reason they try to stop people even drinking at all and driving is because even if you “can handle your booze”, there is no guarantee that you will NOT affected by it the way you usually are. Sometimes I can drink six/seven bottles of bud or something and not feel a thing, other times I am rather intoxicated after three. I would never trust myself to drive after drinking even a little, if I could drive.
I just do not see this as a good idea. At all. Ever.
Also, no need to get so stressed. It is just my opinion.
fair play! i wasnt getting stressed by the way ! ha, that is your opnion an u are entitled to it mate. im just bored in work and seen an opening for a comment 2 pass the time! lol. as i said below on another comment, i drink and drive and depending on how you look at thast you might have a problem with that, you might not. i dont know. they key is to know your limits, if im abit drunk but know i can drive safe, i will. if im drunk and i dont think i can drive, il find another way home. never had any kind of problem drink driving as do know when to say no.
I wasn’t going to call you an idiot but now I am. Fucking idiot’s like you kill people! Unfortunately our society uses false logic of locking up people who accidentally kill people while under the influence yet, only giving points to people who are caught driving under the influence. The person who kills someone accidentally while driving drunk and the person who kills no one while driving drunk have both taken the exact same action yet one has been punished severely and the other not. You should be put in jail and have your driving license taken away for life since your clearly unable to make a logical or moral decision regarding driving a dangerous vehicle.
you sir are “the fucking idiot”
how difficult is it to see a difference between 2 or 3 pints over a night and OMG I THREW UP IN MY PANTS.
no one, no one, no one is advocating driving while smashed you halfwit. just that maybe i dont know, people are not all children that need modicodeling and some people could in theory be issued licenses that allow then to drink 3 drink.
3 FUCKING DRINKS ASSHAT.
lrn2notstupid
Attend your first Drink drive RTC and see if you hold that opinion…
attend your first diabetic coma and ban sugar
attend your first arson attack and ban fire
attend your first drowning and ban water.
having a emotional reaction to an incident is not the best way to legislate it. sensible, well thoughtout debate is. by very definition, this idea would be to actually cut drink driving in rural areas. by raising the limit to 3 drinks and handing out special licences for it people are more likely to stick to 3 drinks.
when the tollerance is zero, people wont see a difference between 3 and 7 drinks. both get you the same punishment,
if your tollerance is 3, then its a number people can stick to.
also, how the fuck did everyone miss that this is a licence baised system. its not telling everyone drinking and driving is fine. its finding a logical solution to a problem.
just because its a problem you dont have doesnt mean its not a problem.
I am perfectly capable of being able to understand the difference between a few pints and being absolutedly wasted.
Unfortunately though it is you who is unable to understand the difference between 0 pints and 3 pints.
And yes people ARE “children who need modicodeling” because people make shit and illogical decisions all the time! Like the decision your making for example. This is why we have laws for it, to try and stop “children” like yourself from making bad decisions that might affect other people’s lives negatively.
licenses. licenses,
not, “everyone can go nuts”.
special, individually given out licenses.
and no, you halfwit, people are NOT all children that need modicodeling. yes people make mistakes and do stupid things. but you have to take that as part of freedom. either lock everyone up to protect them from themselves. or get the fuck off peoples backs and let them live.
you can only do so much meddling before you ruin the entire idea of freedom. personally, i dont think a few thousand people living in cut of rural areas, who have proven themselves to be sensible and achieved a special license, will bring about the Apocalypse.
“i drink and drive” is not a conventional way to make a persuasive argument.
What’s “changed” is that, we now have a huge wealth of knowledge and research in the area of drink driving. Whether you are good at driving or not DOES NOT change the affect alcohol has on your reaction times. Even after just one alcoholic drink you are slower to react. You need fast reaction times to react to things you are not expecting (like a child walking into the road). When you can’t react in time to random events like this, this is when accidents occur that may have been prevented had that person had less to drink.
People like yourself look at situations like this on an individual basis rather than looking at it from a statistical perspective. People who have had 1 beer are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident than someone who has had no beer. Similarly people who have had two beers are statistically more likely to be in an accident than people who has had only one beer.
It’s like saying it’s ok for criminals to rob people because we don’t have enough prisons, instead of saying we need to build more prisons.
The public transport is the problem, not that people can’t drink and drive. Please think.
im bored and getting no work done as a result in this LOL so im gunna back down from this now, but no i dont think of this on an invidual basis at all. i just use my head, ‘like a small child walking into the road’… iv never been on my way home and seen a child walking round at half 3 in mornin lol. im aware of all that and as my windscreen is quite large i am able 2 see both sides of the pavement miles before i reach it. if ya smart and sensible then a few drinks and driving is ok. not once have i ment ‘if ya absolutly bladded’ that shits not good. just coz ya might be tipsy doesnt mean you need to speed.. after all i believe upto a point people can be safer after 1 or 2 drinks for simple fact ya dont want 2 get caught! so therefore pay attention to everything…twice! so skin of my nose and get home an hour before everyone else who have walked… win.
no skin*
Even when it is full daylight with clear visibility and a big windscreen unexpected things can and do happen when driving. There is no reason this is less likely to happen at night, when it is dark and you have had a few, in fact it is more likely.
Coupled with the fact that it is scientifically proven that every man woman and child’s reaction times are affected by any alcohol, then you sir are nothing more than lucky.
What people like you don’t understand is there is a difference in physically being able to drive the car and navigate home and being in a fit state to react effectively to emergencies. The first is easy unless you are so drunk you can barely walk, it doesn’t mean you are safe to do the second.
Will your point of view be the same when you hit someone after a “few” because you didn’t see them?
‘people like me’ and what is that? a dickhead? a moron? im gettin abit sick of randoms on some website judging me after all i said has a bottom line of it should be ok to drive if your 1 or 2 over the limit. not drunk. one or 2 over the limit and your barely even tipsy ! im not a drunk driver i just drive when ive had 1 maybe 2 over the limit. so if i hit someone who ran into the road when i was over the limit then yeah ok its my bad as i was over the limit but i know for a fact i would hit the same kid if i was stone cold sober as i hit them (because they must have ran out into the road.. why else would i hit a kid?. if i was sober, as if im being held responsible for that shit just because their 15yr old mum hasnt told them cars hurt! only difference here is 1 or 2 over the limit – you get the blaim which is fair enough, no drink – im not sure in eyes of the law but in my eyes its sure not my fault that kid has parents that cant control it. so at half 3 in the mornin, yeah im gunna take that chance that there is no kids around an drive after 1 or 2 over the limit
Dude, you’re not using your brain here at all. The issue is REACTION TIME. You physically and mentally react more slowly when you have consumed alcohol. It doesn’t matter how much you WANT to react just as quickly, you simply won’t. And I agree, children walking around at half 3 is unlikely, but then you’ll get drunkards walking into the road or people who don’t look because it’s so late/early. You need to accept responsibility for doing something that is patently dangerous for other people.
Wezley your clearly incapable of making sound decisions. I hope your taken off the road, one way or another, before you ruin an inoccent person’s life with your stupidty.
lol’ing at u and every1 else who is getting wrong end of things thinking i drive in a dangerous state!
You ignore facts and go off what you have kidded yourself in to believing. It is a fact, proven by numerous bits of research that even after 1 or 2 drinks, reaction time is significantly lower.
So no, you would not definitely have hit the person if you were stone cold sober as your body and mind were capable of stopping quicker, hence avoiding the accident.
I don’t say you drive dangerously, or aim to cause accidents, but you can’t ignore the facts that drink will make you take longer to react to any emergency situation, therefore making you more likely to cause accidents or be involved in one.
So in looking at those facts… yes moron seems about right. And in trying to argue such a flimsy point, even more so.
like i said b4 i was bored when i wrote that so was just a random comment! but you people bit 2 the point im bein called a moron lol i no its a flimsy arguement but guess what? im still in work with nothin to do so while all you people are wasting time argueing with me, im challenging myself to keep my point going! its quite hard as it is a SHIT arguement but its quite entertaining
Anything to get them off the craic.
Sometimes you might be too drunk to walk, so drive instead? Why not?
No wonder they ended up in a financial mess!
I don’t see how this will stand. There were only 5 out of 12 councillors present, surely a vote in which only tree out of a potential 12 people voted for can’t be legal?
It will stand because their method of how to vote on a bill is just as retarded as the bill being proposed. They will just go with the majority of the people present.
Also, Tree Fiddy?
WHAT! I ain’t giving you no tree fiddy.
No, you’re wrong. It won’t stand.
Did you miss the joke or have I somehow missed yours?
I know I’ll get vilified for this; but I think this is a pretty good idea.
If I’ve had a pint at the bar, a glass of wine with my meal and a whisky for the road; I know I’m more than capable of completing a journey in a car. It would irritate the bejesus out of me if I lived in the countryside and had to struggle to get home when I knew my car was outside the pub and that the roads were empty.
Cue heckling…
You aren’t capable of rational decisions sober Mr Dean, what chance do you have when drunk.
I live in the countryside, half an hours drive away from where I drink.
I don’t drink enough to be over the limit, simple as that. I forgo the whisky for the road and have half a pint of beer instead, I still enjoy my glass of wine with my meal, and as long as I’m careful I do it all legally.
no heckling here, im not gunna lie, i drink and drive, beats walking, never been in trouble, never caused any harm! just have to know ya limits and you’ll be fine !
I’d say to both Dean and you, past experience is no indicator of future performance – you may cause harm one day. It’s ok saying “just have to know your limits” but what are they? As others have said your reactions could be affected by a stronger than expected drink, a reaction to something you’ve eaten, road conditions you’re not aware of. I’ve been hit by a driver who was speeding while still under the influence the morning after drinking, he thought he knew his limits too, no doubt.
key is mate, dont speed! we are talking abouut a few drinks, not drunk as fk… 1 or 2. u know ya limits as simple as asking yourself ‘am i gunna be safe getting home?’ is your sensible you wont lie to yourself as at the end of the day who wants to crash or run someone over? not me!.. if its not safe i dont drive. if you know u can drive safely who would walk instead? a stone cold sensible person maybe but an average joe is gunna drive is it seems ok too. as u have had one or 2 and not drunk, your reactions and all that shouldnt be that impared ya cause problems, yeah u might put wrong radio station on but you can stop the car just as quick as anyone else. drunk – dont drive….. 1 or 2 (over the limit by a pint) – dont do anythin stupid to get stopped
“yeah u might put wrong radio station on but you can stop the car just as quick as anyone else”
If you are drunk enough to be getting the wrong radio station… no you can’t.
wtf planet are u from? lol no how easy it is 2 put a wrong radio station is anyway? fat fingers + 6 tiny buttons next 2 eachother = very easy 2 get wrong one! its not like i said ‘when u pick reverse instead of 2nd gear’ is it? lol. and longfellow agreed with what u are saying! its a self choise at the end of the day, me, i make sure im certain before i get in a car otherwise i walk! getting made out 2 be a complete dick all over this page lol all iv bin sayin is basically if u drink 1pint over the limit an u feel fine why not drive. not saying ‘drink 10pints and then try and get top speed in a car’ !
The point I think you keep missing that people are trying to get across is that the attitude of “1 pint over the limit an u feel fine” is dangerous, even a small amount of alcohol WILL affect your reaction time. Here’s a true story which may or may not alter your view on drunk driving. This will sound like an urban legend but genuinely happened to a member of my family.
Picture the scene… a young couple with their whole lives ahead of them. Their first mistake was to go into the same town centre for their stag / hen do. Inevitably they bump into each other later, he is shitfaced but wants to drive. They have a huge argument and she storms off to walk home, he drives.
The next day, she’s still not come home, he’s starting to think “wow that must have been some argument”. He notices later that day he has dented his car and starts to have a sick feeling.
They later found her dead in a ditch from a hit and run. He had knocked down and killed his own fiance without a care in the world. He got 7 years for manslaughter and as the judge quite rightly said “No-one can punish you more than you’re punishing yourself right now”. His fiance’s family were actually supportive of him, good people who understood that as horrible as the situation was, he was a good kid who had done something really fucking stupid. One stupid decision cost him 5 1/2 years of his life, and the love of his life.
FFS, PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
yeah that is a grim story like.
The problem is that alcohol makes you overestimate your abilities, even one or two pints can make you think you’ll be ok when you might not be. Just my opinion.
My car can’t crash below 18mph because of some fancy pants sensors. If I drive below this speed…I’m fine!
And if you live far enough from the pub at that rate you could have sobered up by the time you get home
If the councils are so worried about it why don’t they start a taxi services in the areas?
Create jobs, income and save lives.
Idiots.
*service
Ireland has obviously decided the way out of the financial crisis is to allow people to buy more drink (thus increasing tax revenue) then kill themselves, thus reducing pension and benefit costs. Expect the introduction of a tax on undertakers in the next budget.
This is nuts. I live in an extremely rural area in Wales and people already drink drive too much even while it’s against the law. Giving approval is a recipe for disaster!
How about just getting a fucking taxi!?!?
I don’t drive and that’s what I do.
If only there was some way of hiring a sober individual with a car who could drive people around at a fair, metered rate…
I guess Kerry Council (formerly “Knock on the door and ask for Seamus”) can’t think of a solution either.
The credit crunch didn’t just take all their money, but clearly what few brain cells remained as well…
2 Things:
‘Only in Ireland?’ ‘knock on the door and ask for Seamus’ – Nothing like a bit of casual racism…
‘Get a taxi’ – Ever lived in a rural area? There aren’t a lot of taxis to get you around…
While I don’t agree with the ideas, despite the roads being quieter (it’s isolated and rural), why don;t the council look into a funded minibus to get people around for a flat fee?
And to the people saying I can drink x amount and be safe drive, keep in mind each person processes alcohol at a different rate, what is safe for you isn’t safe for someone else, keep that in mind when quoting what you can drink and who you may influence!
And yes, a soft idea by the council that needs a rethink
And when stories like this pop up to confirm a particular stereotype, what do you think people are going to do?
Well, it’s only one county for a start, not the whole of the country
I once heard an Irish comic say that while English people tell Irish Jokes, Irish people tell Kerryman jokes. I can see why now.
Just reinforcing a stereotype after reading these comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qzZr9OLKVE
Or in Ireland, it’s just known simply as ‘driving’
“Still, where else in the world would you get this kind of motion but Ireland?”
Really? Are you serious? You feel the need to pound on a racist stereotype for what reason, exactly?
The Irish government has done an incredible job of dealing with this issue over the last 10-15 years, including an incredibly effective ad campaigns backed up with stringent laws and regulations. It’s worth noting that the drink drive limit in the UK is 60% higher than in Ireland.