In rural Kerry region in Ireland, a local ordinance has made relatively drunk-driving a legal exercise. The national Department of Justice still has to weigh in, however.
Okay to be just a little drunk
Drivers in rural Kerry county who are found to have more than the lawful amount of alcohol in their system will be given a pass, according to motion author Councilor Danny Healy-Rae. Healy-Rae supposedly drafted the legislation with older rural residents in mind who will become remote at home and suffer depression if they have to fear losing their license over "two or three drinks."
"I see the merit in having a stricter rule of law for when there's a massive volume of traffic and where there's busy roads with massive speed," Healy-Rae told Irish newspaper The Journal. "But on the roads I'm talking about, you couldn't do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour and it's not a big deal. I don't see any big issue with it."
Rum keeps people alive
Healy-Rae said that there are a ton of older members locally who are committing suicide since they are unable to drive after getting hit with a DUI. Isolation is a big issue in the area.
"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that they had is being lost as a result," he said.
Some upset over it
The legislation will not get past Kerry Mayor Terry O'Brien though. He believes it would allow people to get severely drunk rather than just reasonably drunk and then drives an automobile. This is very dangerous, he believes, and they would like to stay away from the problem whenever necessary.
"I don't know what expertise one would have to look at someone in a bar to give them a permit to drive a car after any alcohol," O'Brien added.
There has been a 42 percent decrease in Ireland's road fatalities in the last four years due to drunk-driving laws. All that would be undone with a new law allowing it, according to Alcohol Action Ireland rep Conor Cullen.
"Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland are alcohol-related," Cullen said. "Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability - any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash."
Okay to be just a little drunk
Drivers in rural Kerry county who are found to have more than the lawful amount of alcohol in their system will be given a pass, according to motion author Councilor Danny Healy-Rae. Healy-Rae supposedly drafted the legislation with older rural residents in mind who will become remote at home and suffer depression if they have to fear losing their license over "two or three drinks."
"I see the merit in having a stricter rule of law for when there's a massive volume of traffic and where there's busy roads with massive speed," Healy-Rae told Irish newspaper The Journal. "But on the roads I'm talking about, you couldn't do any more than 20 or 30 miles per hour and it's not a big deal. I don't see any big issue with it."
Rum keeps people alive
Healy-Rae said that there are a ton of older members locally who are committing suicide since they are unable to drive after getting hit with a DUI. Isolation is a big issue in the area.
"All the wisdom and all the wit and all the culture that they had is being lost as a result," he said.
Some upset over it
The legislation will not get past Kerry Mayor Terry O'Brien though. He believes it would allow people to get severely drunk rather than just reasonably drunk and then drives an automobile. This is very dangerous, he believes, and they would like to stay away from the problem whenever necessary.
"I don't know what expertise one would have to look at someone in a bar to give them a permit to drive a car after any alcohol," O'Brien added.
There has been a 42 percent decrease in Ireland's road fatalities in the last four years due to drunk-driving laws. All that would be undone with a new law allowing it, according to Alcohol Action Ireland rep Conor Cullen.
"Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland are alcohol-related," Cullen said. "Even in small amounts, alcohol impairs driving ability - any amount of alcohol increases the risk of involvement in a fatal crash."
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