The Irish have made a sharp u-turn in attitudes towards drinking in driving in the past 10 years. The Road Safety Authoritiy (RSA) in its annual run-up to St Patrick’s day festivities in Ireland carried out a survey that shows 65 percent of those polled now believe “that there is simply no amount of alcohol that you can drink if driving,” according to the RSA survey results published 16 March. The results compare to 2000, when 30 percent of people said there should be a zero limit and 2006, when the number had risen to 49 percent.

Lower Irish road death numbers linked to government road safety campaigns and legal restrictions on drink/driving are credited with the change. The government is proposing to lower the limit from the current 0.8 per thousand to 0.5 (Ed. note: Switzerland has a limit of 0.5).

Gay Byrne, Irish TV personality who chairs the RSA, said that “The results are astonishing and show that there has been a profound change in people’s attitudes and behaviour over the past decade. A clear majority of people now believe that drink driving is not normal behaviour, which is the polar opposite of the attitudes that were prevalent in Irish society 10 years ago.”

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