How often are you being breath tested?

alias no.9 · 26-08-2009 09:50AM #1

There's a few threads about the VFI comments relating to the changes to the permissable blood alcohol levels for drivers. It is my contention that reducing the limit is pointless until we have effective enforcement. The Donegal County Coroner, Dr. John Madden has also publicly articulated this view and he has more exposure than most to the effects of drink driving.
I was going to reply to the latest thread but I couldn't include a poll enquiring about the frequency at which people are undergoing random breath tests. It's now three years since the introduction of Random Breath Testing so I'm asking people how many times they've been bagged. I want to do this to illustrate the fact that if people aren't being breath tested, the limit itself is irrelevant.
If there is to be an effective deterrent, there has to be a strong chance of getting caught each and every time somebody gets into a car with drink on them.

Mena · 26-08-2009 09:54AM

Never, not once. In 10 years driving in Ireland (20 years driving in total), I've been stopped at one checkpoint, and that was for tax/insurance about 5 years ago.

J-blk · 26-08-2009 09:57AM

Never - I've been driving here for the last 4 years and have only ever been stopped at a single check point. All they wanted to see was the tax disc at the time...

R.O.R · 26-08-2009 09:58AM

Once in over 10 years of driving in Ireland.

That was at about 06.40 on a Monday morning on the main road out of Drogheda. Same checkpoint was there the previous week but I was waved through first time.

I don't do a lot of driving in the evenings or weekends though.

Cookie_Monster · 26-08-2009 10:00AM

stopped 3 times breathilysed at 2 of them.

Was driving friends home one night and got stooped to do it. 4/5 mins later was coming back the other way through same checkpoint and pulled over again.

Asked "When was the last time you were asked for to take a test"
I said 5 mins ago by your collegue there and she (garda) said Ok so thats fine off you go.

I could have been slightly drunk and gotten away with it there, she didn't even check with the other garda.

JMcCR · 26-08-2009 10:00AM

Once in 8 years.

Fey! · 26-08-2009 10:03AM

I've never been bagged, but I did get randomly stopped at 4am on my way to Rally Ireland back in February (blue lights and all!). That was up around Castlerea.

As for checkpoints, the last one I saw was between Kilcolgan and Clarinbridge in April 2007. The giveaway was the tailback for 2 miles on either side. They packed up the checkpoint 2 cars before I got to it!

VERYinterested · 26-08-2009 10:08AM

I see a regular Garda presence near where I live. I was bagged last year near the 'rindabite' near Bugler's Pub on Ballyboden Road in Dublin 16. 1st time in 22 years driving and I do a fair bit of night driving. I gave up the demon drink over 6 years ago so the test was clear, much to the Garda's disappointment

I have seen many road blocks over the years pre random breath testing and you'd want to be rightly pissed not to have sailed through one of them. I have to say the attitude towards drink driving is definitely different now to what it was when I started driving in 1987. It was generally accepted that you'd be ok with a skinful on you, once you could see through one eye :eek:, now, thankfully I see people castigated by their mates if they even think about it.

Zube · 26-08-2009 10:11AM

Once, four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon on the dualler heading west out of Dublin towards the M50.

Not, I would suspect, the most likely time or place to catch drunk drivers.

Saab Ed · 26-08-2009 10:12AM

I just voted once but infact I forgot it was actualy my wife that got tested that night. I wsa infakt under the afluence of incahol that evening . 15 years of driving and never once ...mad. I've seen more dipping for green than I have random breath tests...mad.

Tony H · 26-08-2009 10:12AM

I have never been tested in 30 years of driving and until January of this year my wife had not either , since January she had been tested 4 times, the Guards where we live always have the checkpoint in the same place , If it was really random ie stopping people in different places I think it would be more effective .

The Big Red Button · 26-08-2009 10:15AM

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

stopped 3 times breathilysed at 2 of them.

Was driving friends home one night and got stooped to do it. 4/5 mins later was coming back the other way through same checkpoint and pulled over again.

Asked "When was the last time you were asked for to take a test"
I said 5 mins ago by your collegue there and she (garda) said Ok so thats fine off you go.

I could have been slightly drunk and gotten away with it there, she didn't even check with the other garda.

One evening I drove to my boyfriends house, collected him and drove him back along the same road to go to the shop, then drove back to his house again.

They were breathalysing at a roundabout on the way, and I was breathalysed by the same Garda all three times!! :rolleyes:

I said it to her the second time, but she just said that she didn't remember me and I had to do it again.

I didn't bother saying anything the third time but she looked a little bit embarrassed about it, she might have realised half way through.

I was breathalysed at least once apart from that ... maybe more, not sure. More than most people here it seems! I haven't been breathalyed at all in the last 12-18 months though.

North_West_Art · 26-08-2009 10:15AM

4 times in the last year Ive been breathelized, from 1pm in the afternoon to 2.30am. I live in Donegal.

helimachoptor · 26-08-2009 10:16AM

Twice since the random checks were brought in. Once when my Gf picked me up and I was hammered the gardai gave me a test for the crack

alias no.9 · 26-08-2009 10:17AM

Interesting to see that so many have still never been bagged. The random breath testing was a major step forward in that the Gardai no longer had to justify bagging someone at a random check. The subsequent reduction in fatalities was proof positive of its effectiveness. They are however very conctrained in their application because despite the use of the term random, that randomness comes only from the people who happen to pass the predefined location during a predefined time period as signed off by the chief super in advance.
In Oregon in the US, they have what they call an 'Implied Consent' law which means that through your action in getting behind the wheel of a car, you are automatically giving consent to a breath test. I think that is something that needs to be considered here.

h3000 · 26-08-2009 10:22AM

First and only time was about 2 years back.

EDIT: Driving 12k > 16k miles per year for over ten years.

pred racer · 26-08-2009 10:25AM

Never!

seamus · 26-08-2009 10:26AM

I drive less then 5k/year, so only been done once. And it didn't work that time.

Sleepy · 26-08-2009 10:27AM

Once - on the Rock Road at 3am while collecting my girlfriend from town who'd been out that night. Seemed a good spot for testing tbh but I've never seen them there again.

Drive about 30k a year.

Cookie_Monster · 26-08-2009 10:28AM

helimachoptor wrote: »

Twice since the random checks were brought in. Once when my Gf picked me up and I was hammered the gardai gave me a test for the crack

how'd that go?

Sleepy wrote:

Once - on the Rock Road at 3am while collecting my girlfriend from town who'd been out that night. Seemed a good spot for testing tbh but I've never seen them there again.

Just outside the garda station in Blackrock by any chance? Laziest checkpoint in the world there, they go 5m from the front door max.

26-08-2009 10:29AM

Breath tested once in 7 years of driving and it was over 2 years ago. I do and have done a lot driving also.

On a side note a friend of mine was Breathalyzed recently in the afternoon he had been on a massive session the night before until the eairly hours and was not long after having a pint for the cure when he came on the checkpoint and he blew 0. He said he actually said 'really' to the guard without thinking as he was so relieved he was sure he was going down.

The Big Red Button · 26-08-2009 10:31AM

helimachoptor wrote: »

Twice since the random checks were brought in. Once when my Gf picked me up and I was hammered the gardai gave me a test for the crack

They did that with my mum's friend who was in the passenger seat once, she'd had four glasses of wine over about 3-4 hours and she passed! I was really surprised at that.

drunkymonkey · 26-08-2009 10:33AM

6 years driving, only had to blow once!

corcaigh07 · 26-08-2009 10:35AM

once but i was caught speeding at the time on the Cashel bypass heading up for all-ireland final weekend in 2005 so dont know if that counts. Could have been tested in Bantry two weeks ago as the garda had the breath test in his hand ready to go. he had a word with me and made a judgement call. I told him "not a drop...........yet!"

james1234 · 26-08-2009 10:36AM

Never been tested at all, mind you I don;t drive that much at nights, so that might be an influence seeing as most checks are late at night.

chatterpillar wrote: »

They did that with my mum's friend who was in the passenger seat once, she'd had four glasses of wine over about 3-4 hours and she passed! I was really surprised at that.

It takes approximately 1 hour for a unit of alcohol (approx 1 glass of wine) to go through your system, so your mum's friend probably wouldn't have actually been over the limit, whereas if she had drank say 4 glasses in an hour, then yes she would have been way over.

tuxy · 26-08-2009 10:39AM

Never tested but had the car searched a few times under the misuse of drugs act. Apparently if you drive around a town at 3 in the morning it's suspicious activity.

Voodoomelon · 26-08-2009 10:39AM

Results might be slightly skewed as you'll have people who have only been driving far less than 3 years or who drive very little voting Never.

Also a Never here.

SmandyMaguire · 26-08-2009 10:44AM

never in 5 years driving. was in Oz for a month and got breathalyzed twice

alias no.9 · 26-08-2009 10:49AM

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Results might be slightly skewed as you'll have people who have only been driving far less than 3 years or who drive very little voting Never.

Also a Never here.

I put the poll in for 3 days and the response has been pretty quick. If there is a large enough response, it should reflect a good cross section of the overall driving population, amongst whom there will be people who have been driving less than 3 years or who drive very little. I'm going to bump it frequently (if that's ok with mods) to make sure it sits on the boards main page to capture non-motors respondants.

dudara · 26-08-2009 10:55AM

Never been stopped for a test altough I have been waved through a fair few checkpoints where they were testing. I've just never been that every 5th person (or whatever they use).

SV · 26-08-2009 10:57AM

Once, in..just over 2 years of driving.

no1beemerfan · 26-08-2009 11:19AM

I've gone through plenty of check points....the last one two months ago. The last time I was breath tested must be two years ago, 3 or 4 times in total.

The aul Guards are def out less than they used to be alright!

Marlow · 26-08-2009 11:22AM

The only county I've been breathalised in is Co. Galway

and that's twice. Once in Oranmore (yep, just outside the Garda station) and once between Moylough and Mountbellew (they do love that spot).

Also on the case of checkpoints, it seems that Co. Galway is more up that kind of craic than other places. It happens regularly anywhere around the place there. I believe, I only once got stopped in a checkpoint outside.

I drive 40k miles/year and I used to commute on a weekly basis to Westcork, also drive to Dub at least twice a month and often night driving.

So I reckon, it has a lot to do with how the gardai are up for it in each individual county. I'd say Galway has a breathaliser chok anyhow after they caught the newly instated super here a few years ago in an unmarked cop-car and completely drunk.

/M

tuxy · 26-08-2009 11:26AM

Didn't the head of the Traffic corps for the region get stopped in Galway a few years ago?

Bazzy · 26-08-2009 11:28AM

once and i'm driving 4 years and would clock up a fair few miles.

It was on the road where the coloured girl reversed by the truck on traffic blues police are always there

Blew zero and your man was all upset I asked him for the tube and he just threw it at me.

Neither him nor the guy who originally stopped me were very clued in as the tax in the vehicle I was driving was out of date only be a few days but neither of them even looked !!

guerito · 26-08-2009 11:29AM

Never, in 5 years of driving in this country. In 2 years of driving in Spain, I was breathalysed once.

unkel · 26-08-2009 11:34AM

Good poll, I have never been tested in this country.

alias no.9 wrote: »

the fact that if people aren't being breath tested, the limit itself is irrelevant.
If there is to be an effective deterrent, there has to be a strong chance of getting caught each and every time somebody gets into a car with drink on them.

It's not the strong chance of getting caught, but the perception of a strong chance of getting caught. After some media attention, people even got scared of being over the limit in the morning. Ask any senior person in the hospitality industry what happened to drink turnover in recent years Christmas parties where there was a free bar...

I've no doubt that drink driving today is nowhere near what it was 10 years ago.

Cabaal · 26-08-2009 11:36AM

I'm driving since March 2008, full license for past 12 months in that time I've been stopped for tax, insurance perhaps 4-5 times but never stopped/asked for a breath test once or even seen any checkpoints doing them.

I drive about 450miles a week odd so its not like I'm not out and about.

Marlow · 26-08-2009 11:38AM

tuxy wrote: »

Didn't the head of the Traffic corps for the region get stopped in Galway a few years ago?

The newly appointed one, yes, and in an unmarked cop-car. That was the one I referred to. And he was forced to retire imidiatly.

/M

tc20 · 26-08-2009 11:39AM

I'm driving over 20 years and i've only been stopped once for breath test, in Greystones, in the run-up to last christmas. I knew i'd be fine as i hadn't any alcohol for a few days (that sounds worse than i mean it to be...must have drink!!!:P)

Holsten · 26-08-2009 12:01PM

Never, only know one person who has been.

alias no.9 · 26-08-2009 12:07PM

unkel wrote: »

It's not the strong chance of getting caught, but the perception of a strong chance of getting caught. After some media attention, people even got scared of being over the limit in the morning. Ask any senior person in the hospitality industry what happened to drink turnover in recent years Christmas parties where there was a free bar...

I've no doubt that drink driving today is nowhere near what it was 10 years ago.

I agree with your point about perception for the majority of the population. The reduction in numbers driving under the influence in the last 10 years has been major progress and it means we're now dealing with a minor portion of people who persist with drink driving, outliers in the population.
- They have not been deterred by reductions in the limit up until now
- They have not been deterred by the advertising
- They have not been deterred by the old style enforcement with the arresting Garda publicly questioned on the stand about his every decision in a court while the perpetrator sat in the dock laughing in the knowledge that their brief was the best in the business in finding technicalities
- They have not been deterred by random breath testing
- They have not been deterred by changing social norms
- They have not been deterred by peer pressure
All that's left in the power of the state to do is to catch them in the act which could teach them a real lesson if they're put off the road, though some don't even comply with their driving bans.
The alternative is to leave them at it until the inevitable happens, while so called road safety pat themselves on the ban for reducing the limit which has little effect other than to scare the ****e out of many people who currently comply with the law.

dcr22B · 26-08-2009 12:08PM

Well, in case anybody is wondering, I'm the 5 times breathalised person all in the same car in 5 different areas over the past 30 months.

Kildare Street
Rock Road
R127/R128 roundabout in Lusk
Old R132 on the way home to Lusk
Mount Street

Never had a single ml in my system at any of the five times but I'm seriously reckoning it's down to the car I drive (BMW 318Ci) and the fact that I'm in 25-35 age bracket. It has never bothered me to do it and I've nearly resigned myself to being tested every time I pull up at a checkpoint!

smash · 26-08-2009 12:26PM

only ever once near Houstin Station on a Sat morning. They were pulling over every car, Garda was sound that I dealt with, there were about 10 others there and 2 cars on the back of low loaders already!

dcr22B wrote: »

I'm seriously reckoning it's down to the car I drive (BMW 318Ci) and the fact that I'm in 25-35 age bracket.

Why would you think that? I'm in the same bracket and drive a bigger car. Never pulled over apart from that 1 breath test, and everyone was being pulled over then.

mp22 · 26-08-2009 12:31PM

Once in nearly 30 years of driving

irisheddie85 · 26-08-2009 12:32PM

I've been tested 3 times in the last 4 years. I do alot of driving around galway late evening/nights (delivery driver). been waved through 3 or 4 more checkpoints when they saw they hot food bags.

All these were on bank holiday weekends or in the run up to busy weekends in galway.

The gardai always seemed to have at least one guy pulled over and out of their car at these checkpoints so they must actually work.

BrianD · 26-08-2009 12:46PM

alias no.9 wrote: »

It is my contention that reducing the limit is pointless until we have effective enforcement.

Reducing the limit is NOT pointless as there are a large number of drivers who will voluntarily modify their behaviour so as to stay legal. I wholeheartedly agree that more enforcement is required. However, it is not about statistics of detections it''s about reducing both fatalities and injuries on the road. This can be done without enforcement if drivers take a responsible approach to driving.

I note that I'm the first person to fall into the 6+ category (it is actually 6 times that I have been breathylised -the last occasion on the June B'Holiday.

dcr22B · 26-08-2009 12:51PM

steve06 wrote: »

Why would you think that? I'm in the same bracket and drive a bigger car. Never pulled over apart from that 1 breath test, and everyone was being pulled over then.

Just a gut feeling, I've driven through many checkpoints in my wife's Golf and never been pulled over.

Doesn't bother me as I've nothing to hide, just a personal opinion.

robbie99 · 26-08-2009 12:56PM

dcr22B wrote: »

Well, in case anybody is wondering, I'm the 5 times breathalised person all in the same car in 5 different areas over the past 30 months.

Kildare Street
Rock Road
R127/R128 roundabout in Lusk
Old R132 on the way home to Lusk
Mount Street

Never had a single ml in my system at any of the five times but I'm seriously reckoning it's down to the car I drive (BMW 318Ci) and the fact that I'm in 25-35 age bracket. It has never bothered me to do it and I've nearly resigned myself to being tested every time I pull up at a checkpoint!

Haha. And I'm the other 5 times one, four times in the past 12 13 months driving a BMW. In fairness, only one maybe two of those I put down to the car. Four were checkpoints at Guinnesses on the quays (twice), the N4 approaching palmerstown and once on the Fonthill road. All in the early mornings. The other time was near Ballyfermot after an unmarked car thought I was trying to avoid a checkpoint up the road by turning off.

Interestingly, last Friday on Queen Street there was a checkpoint in operation at 7pm :eek:. This is the first I've seen one during the day and methinks it was designed to catch workers that had a pint or two after work on their way home.

bladebrew · 26-08-2009 12:58PM

never but im only driving a car just over two years,before that i was on a moped,driving a moped is dangerous enough without being drunk!! been through plenty of checkpoints though,

The Big Red Button · 26-08-2009 12:59PM

I can't help but wonder - of the 58% of people who tick the box that they have never been tested - how many of those don't actually drive, but cannot see a poll without feeling compelled to vote for something

How often are you being breath tested?

How many times have you been breath tested since the introduction of random breath te 298 votes

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