The former government minister, Jim McDaid, has been convicted of dangerous driving and drunken driving at Naas District Court in Co Kildare and given a two year driving ban. Driving up the wrong side of a dual carrageway McDaid was more than 3 times over the limit with 267 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his sample.
He joins North Dublin TD GV Wright who is soon to finish a 2 year ban, GV publicly admitted knocking down a woman pedestrian, nurse Anne Butler while having been driving after drinking, then providing 67 microgrammes per 100 millilitres in a breath sample, Mr Wright’s 2 year driving ban is due to end next month. Ms Butler broke her leg in 4 places and had to have 80-90 steel pins inserted in her shin bones, at the time of the incident she said “I would like to see him face-to- face to say what is the point of the Minister for Transport bringing in the points system when clearly it obviously doesn’t work with his colleagues.”
18 road fatalities were reported in the first nine days of October,,, 6 last Saturday in McDaid’s home County Donegal. There were 3 road fatalities over night [12/Oct] the daily average is one road fatality per day.
130,000 are arrested each year for driving while under the influence of an intoxicant. According to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety 90% of blood and urine specimens and 81% of breath specimens analysed in 2002 were above the alcohol limit for driving.
so what are the limits a TD can take?
blood 80 mg/100ml
urine 107 mg/100ml
breath 35 ug/100ml
the mean alcohol level in blood samples, was 174 milligrammes in 2002, and 57 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres in breath samples in the same year.