28.10.2011

New drink driving limits become operational in Ireland on the 28.10.2011. The Road Traffic Act 2010: Section 4 reduces the drink driving limit for all drivers and now differentiates between experienced drivers and new drivers. A “New” driver is a person who has learner permits, those who hold a driving licence for less than 2 year or those who no valid licence/permit.

New Limits

The drink drive limit or BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) has dropped from 80 milligrams (mg) to 50 milligrams (mg) for all drivers and from 80 milligrams (mg) to 20 milligrams (mg) for learner, newly qualified drivers (for a period of two years after passing the driving test) and professional drivers such as bus, goods vehicle and public service vehicle drivers (PSV).

*Please note that if you are an experienced driver who is governed by the 50mg/ml rule this is reduced to 20mg/ml of blood when towing a trailer on the public road.

Legal Information

The main legislation dealing with road safety in Ireland is the Road Traffic Act 1961. This law has been updated and modernised regularly over the years and following the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 2006, the Gardai have wide powers to reduce and eliminate the offence of drink driving on Irish roads.

Before the introduction of the 2006 Act, the Gardai had to be of the opinion that someone had;

·         Committed a road traffic offence or

·         Had been involved in a traffic accident or

·         Form the opinion that the driver had consumed alcohol

·         Before being legally entitled to breath-test a driver.

The introduction of the 2006 Road Traffic Act gave the Gardai the power to breathalyse any driver stopped at a mandatory alcohol checkpoint without the need to form any opinion in relation to the driver of the vehicle. The ability to breathalyse any driver is now commonly known as “random breath testing”.

Under the Road Traffic Act 2011, since 1 June 2011 Gardaí must conduct a preliminary breath test where they believe a driver has consumed alcohol or at the scene of a crash where someone has been injured and requires medical attention.

Administrative Penalty System

The lowering of the drink drive limit will see the introduction of a new Administrative Penalty System to deal with certain drink driving offences under the new limits. In all cases, if a driver fails a preliminary breath test at the road side he or she will be arrested and required to provide an evidential breath, blood or urine specimen at a Garda station.

Previously all drink driving offences were dealt with in the courts and an automatic disqualification applied to all drink driving convictions. Under the new system if a driver is not already disqualified from holding a driving licence at the time of detection or has not availed of the administrative fixed penalty notice option in the preceding 3 years, and the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) levels in the body do not exceed 100mg, he or she will be subsequently served with a fixed penalty notice. Court proceedings will not be initiated if payment of the fixed charge is made and the penalty accepted.

It’s important to remember that it’s a legal requirement to carry a valid driving licence at all times when driving. If a driver cannot produce his or her driving licence when required to undergo a preliminary breath test, the lower limit of 20 mg will apply to that driver, until such time as the driver produces a valid driving licence. The key message of course is any alcohol impairs your driving, so the only advice is to never ever drink and drive.”

The Fixed Charge Penalties applying to new lower drink drive limits are as follows;

BAC of 20mg – 80 mg the driver will be arrested, brought to a Garda Station and required to provide evidential breath or blood or urine specimens. In all cases where the BAC is deemed to be between 20 and 80 mg and the driver is a specified person, and hasn’t availed of the fixed penalty administrative option in the previous 3 years, the driver will be served with a fixed penalty notice and receive a fine of €200and the person will be disqualified from holding a driving licence for a period of 3 months.

BAC of 50mg – 80mg the driver will be arrested, brought to a Garda Station and required to provide evidential breath or blood or urine specimens. In all cases where the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) is deemed to be between 50 and 80mg and the driver is not a ‘specified’ person (e.g. learner or professional driver), and hasn’t availed of the fixed penalty administrative option in the previous 3 years, the driver will be served with a fixed penalty notice and receive a fine of €200 and 3 penalty points. Points will remain on a licence record for a period of three years. Any driver accumulating 12 points in a three year period will be disqualified from driving for a period of 6 months.

BAC of 80mg – 100mg the driver will be arrested, brought to a Garda Station and required to provide evidential breath or blood or urine specimens. In all cases where the BAC is deemed to be between 80 and 100mg and the driver is not a specified person, and hasn’t availed of the fixed penalty administrative option in the previous 3 years, the driver will be served with a fixed penalty notice and receive a fine of €400 and the person will be disqualified from holding a driving licence for a period of 6 months.

District Court Penalties Where the BAC detected is above 100mg or above 80mg for a specified person, where the person is not eligible to be served with a Fixed Penalty Notice, or where payment has not been made in respect of a Fixed Penalty Notice the following court penalties apply on conviction.

EMS & Associates

It is the advice of EMS & Associates that any person engaged in any form of driving should be made aware of the new drink driving limits and this information should be added to your Occupational Health & Safety Statement. Drivers include private and business users, PSV users – including minibuses – and all commercial drivers. Please circulate this document to all vehicle users for information purposes.

If you have any queries please contact

EMS & Associates,

Seaview, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth.

Tel: 1890 72 33 89

www.emsandassociates.ie

Road Safety Authority,

Moyvalley Business Park,Primrose Hill, Ballina Co. Mayo

Tel: 1890 40 60 40

www. rsa.ie