A study undertaken by the Road Safety Authority has determined that alcohol was a factor in almost 40% of all fatal incidents on Ireland’s roads between 2008 and 2012.
There were 983 fatal collisions and 1,077 people lost their lives during this time period.
In 38% of the collisions alcohol was found to be a contributory factor. According to the data, files were available for 867 of the incidents, and 29% of the incidents involved a driver or motorcyclist who had consumed alcohol, while 9% involved pedestrians who had been drinking.
Minister for Transport, Shane Ross stated:
“This important report highlights that Ireland continues to have a problem with alcohol and road use. The consequences are having a devastating effect in our communities. We must continue educating drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers about the very real dangers and consequences of making the bad decision to use the road after consuming alcohol.”
The counties with the highest instances of alcohol-related drink-driving were found to be Cork (10.6%), Galway (9.7%), Dublin (7.9%) and Donegal (7.6%).
Young male drivers are still more involved in crashes than any other demographic in the country.
