Drink Driving

[farmerinthecity]

Proposals to lower the limit from 80mg to 50mg.

This has had a devastating impact on rural Ireland. The same opportunities to travel are not there as they are in urban areas.

Now that is not to say I would ever condone someone driving who is clearly drunk or even partially drunk, but now I don’t think you can even have one pint and drive which is a ridiculous state of affairs.

My auld fella does drink and drive but never has anymore than two pints if he is driving. He is over the limit technically but he can drive as well as if he had none.

Taxis are not readily available when he leaves a pub, at around 10pm, so what is he meant to do? If he is stopped by the cops then he loses his license for a few years.

[The_Runt]

It’s a joke if they go through with this legislation. Fianna Fail will lose even more support in the rural areas than what they have already.

The transport options just aren’t there for rural people go into town and socialise for an hour or two, have a couple of drinks and then get a taxi home. Say what you like about the Vinters but the pub is the only social outlet for elderly people in rural Ireland and the government are doing their best to kill it.

Apparently of the 22 people who spoke at the parlimentary party meeting last night only 2 spoke in favour of the bill and one of those was Noel Dempsey.

[myboyblue]

I am against this for no other reason than the morning after. Is there any problem at the moment with the limit? Is it seen as debilitating as things stand?

The limit is fine as it is, you cold aruge its possibly even too harsh, lowering it any further is just nonsense. We’ve bigger things to worry about in the current climate. This is a nonsense debate.

[The_Runt]

[quote=“myboyblue”]I am against this for no other reason than the morning after. Is there any problem at the moment with the limit? Is it seen as debilitating as things stand?

The limit is fine as it is, possibly even too harsh as things stand, lowering it any further is just nonsense. We’ve bigger things to worry about in the current climate.[/quote]

There are also saying that if you get caught with an alcohol limit between the old limit and the proposed new limit (80mg to 50mg) then you won’t lose your licence but will get a fine and penalty points. So they are admiting it’s not as serious an offence yet are willing to clog up the already over stretched courts and Gardai resources enforcing it.

[myboyblue]

Idiot’s. Goon lepjack mong bastard’s.

[Rocko]

Ah lads I can’t believe what I’m reading here.

I don’t understand the social aspect to it at all really. You can still go to the pub and drive home, you just can’t drink alcohol when you’re there. I like a pint as much as the next man but I won’t pretend that part of that reason isn’t alcohol. If it’s alcohol I want then I know I can’t drive. Doesn’t matter if I’m living in Dublin or Drumshambo, the same restrictions apply.

The reason it isn’t zero is to cater for the morning after really and that’s the same reason why the punishments are lower for lower breaches. But there is overwhelming evidence to support the lowering of the limit based on results in other countries (usually coupled with random breath testing) and it’s impossible to support arguments to the contrary.

When you’re on the same side as Jackie Healy-Rae you know you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.

[The_Runt]

[quote=“Rocko”]Ah lads I can’t believe what I’m reading here.

I don’t understand the social aspect to it at all really. You can still go to the pub and drive home, you just can’t drink alcohol when you’re there. I like a pint as much as the next man but I won’t pretend that part of that reason isn’t alcohol. If it’s alcohol I want then I know I can’t drive. Doesn’t matter if I’m living in Dublin or Drumshambo, the same restrictions apply.

The reason it isn’t zero is to cater for the morning after really and that’s the same reason why the punishments are lower for lower breaches. But there is overwhelming evidence to support the lowering of the limit based on results in other countries (usually coupled with random breath testing) and it’s impossible to support arguments to the contrary.

When you’re on the same side as Jackie Healy-Rae you know you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.[/quote]

Of course it matters if you’re living in Dublin. People can go to the pub and either walk home, hop on the bus or get a taxi. Those options just don’t exist in rural Ireland. I know plenty of old lads who go collect their pensions of a Friday and go to a local pub near the post office and dwell over 2 pints a few hours and have the craic with each other then drive home. For a lot of them it’s the only social interaction they have in the week.

[myboyblue]

Healy Rae knows his constituents and I see no reason for veering off his side just because of his other agendas.

My main worry with lowering it further is the morning after issue, its a disgrace the amount of people people being done the following morning imo.

[tipptops]

‘Halvey robbed me of my son and got slapped on wrists’

Kate Walsh: “Go out, play sports for Ireland, drink-drive, you can kill someone and you won’t get punished in court for it”

THE mother of a 16-year-old boy who was killed after former Irish rugby international Eddie Halvey crashed into a car he was a passenger in has said she still feels bitter towards the former Munster star and upset over the outcome of the case.
Kate Walsh, mother of Kevin Walsh, who was killed in the crash in the early hours of April 1, 2006, said: “He is a sportsman who played for Ireland and got a slap on the wrists in court today. It sent out the wrong message to everyone in Ireland today. Go out, play sports for Ireland, drink drive, you can kill someone and you won’t get punished in court for it, that is the reality. I feel very bitter towards Eddie Halvey.”

Kevin Walsh’s godfather, Vincent Tierney, said he was glad the case had concluded: “There is a sense of closure in that we can move someway on with out lives. The court has been looming over us all along and a lot of our attention was on the court case and not on our families and now I feel we can move on with our lives.”

In her victim impact statement Kate Walsh, from Bruff, said Eddie Halvey had robbed her of a lifetime with her son. “He robbed me of ever knowing what kind of person Kevin could have been,” she said adding that she would never forgive Mr Halvey for what he had done.

Directly addressing Mrs Walsh from the witness box, Eddie Halvey said: “No mother deserves to bury her son and I will have to live with the shame of this for the rest of my life. I truly am sorry for what I did to you and your family. I don’t expect forgiveness, I really don’t.”

Halvey’s former team-mate Mick Galwey told the court he believed Mr Halvey was remorseful about what happened. “Since the time of the accident, he is a different man and at times I worry about him. He had a great circle of friends and was well thought of but he left Limerick and moved to Dublin,” he said adding: “Any time I ever spoke to Eddie, he was always remorseful about it and his confidence is gone.”

Halvey received a sevenmonth suspended jail sentence and was disqualified from driving for seven years after he pleaded guilty to charges relating to the death of Bruff teenager Kevin Walsh. Kevin died in the early hours of April 1, 2006 after a Toyota Landcruiser being driven by Halvey crashed into the rear of a BMW car in which he was a back-seat passenger.

At Nenagh Circuit Court on Tuesday, Mr Halvey, 38, formerly of Allendale Hall, South Circular Road, Limerick, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Kevin Walsh, but guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving. He also pleaded guilty to being more than two-times over the legal alcohol limit on the date of the crash.

Judge Tomas Teehan was told that Kevin Walsh was travelling to Newry with two of his uncles to buy a car when the crash happened shortly after 5am near Toomevara, County Tipperary. The court was told the BMW being driven by Vincent Tierney was stopped at ^the time as there was cattle on the road.

Det Garda Declan O’Carroll said that Mr Halvey was arrested at the scene of the fatal crash and that subsequent breath tests showed there was an alcohol concentration of 83 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit at the time was 35 micrograms. Patrick Gageby, SC, for Mr Halvey, said there had been difficulties in establishing the exact circumstances of the collision. He said the DPP had changed his mind on three separate occasions and at one point had decided to withdraw the charges against his client.

“This matter is now three years down the road and not because Eddie Halvey was dithering and doddering,” he said adding: "It is a case, if contested, which would have been difficult.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Halvey-robbed-me-of-my.5266430.jp

[Watch_The_Break]

This is gas. The tribune had a couple of articles centred on the opinions of Fianna Fail back-benchers on Sunday. The major issue for them all was NOT NAMA, NOT the Lisbon Treaty, NOT the proposed social welfare cuts, NOT cuts in healthcare, and NOT cuts in education. The biggest problem they were all concerned with is this. What a fucking joke of a government we have.

[The_Runt]

Pretty sad dragging up that story just to provoke a reaction.

[Gman]

yeah in spite of the fact I live in a rural area, I dont see the argument against it either. The only opposition I’d have is the morning after. But I dont see what the point is going ot the pub for one pint and then driving home. I’m either out drinking, or I’m not and driving.

I think one of the things, and it might have been something I’ve said on here before, being overlooked is the publicans whinging and moaning but doing nothing about it.

A very very siumple soloution, and one that doesnt cost much is to provide a free, or even charged for, bus service. Say you hire a bus for 2 hours at closing time, and bring your punters home. Maybe €200? Sure a few people will cover that, and you’d be more inclined to get punters in, so you;d be making money. Instead of publicans moaning, they should be doing something and be proactive about it. Instead they are looking for easy money.

[myboyblue]

[quote=“tipptops*”]‘Halvey robbed me of my son and got slapped on wrists’

Kate Walsh: “Go out, play sports for Ireland, drink-drive, you can kill someone and you won’t get punished in court for it”

THE mother of a 16-year-old boy who was killed after former Irish rugby international Eddie Halvey crashed into a car he was a passenger in has said she still feels bitter towards the former Munster star and upset over the outcome of the case.
Kate Walsh, mother of Kevin Walsh, who was killed in the crash in the early hours of April 1, 2006, said: “He is a sportsman who played for Ireland and got a slap on the wrists in court today. It sent out the wrong message to everyone in Ireland today. Go out, play sports for Ireland, drink drive, you can kill someone and you won’t get punished in court for it, that is the reality. I feel very bitter towards Eddie Halvey.”

Kevin Walsh’s godfather, Vincent Tierney, said he was glad the case had concluded: “There is a sense of closure in that we can move someway on with out lives. The court has been looming over us all along and a lot of our attention was on the court case and not on our families and now I feel we can move on with our lives.”

In her victim impact statement Kate Walsh, from Bruff, said Eddie Halvey had robbed her of a lifetime with her son. “He robbed me of ever knowing what kind of person Kevin could have been,” she said adding that she would never forgive Mr Halvey for what he had done.

Directly addressing Mrs Walsh from the witness box, Eddie Halvey said: “No mother deserves to bury her son and I will have to live with the shame of this for the rest of my life. I truly am sorry for what I did to you and your family. I don’t expect forgiveness, I really don’t.”

Halvey’s former team-mate Mick Galwey told the court he believed Mr Halvey was remorseful about what happened. “Since the time of the accident, he is a different man and at times I worry about him. He had a great circle of friends and was well thought of but he left Limerick and moved to Dublin,” he said adding: “Any time I ever spoke to Eddie, he was always remorseful about it and his confidence is gone.”

Halvey received a sevenmonth suspended jail sentence and was disqualified from driving for seven years after he pleaded guilty to charges relating to the death of Bruff teenager Kevin Walsh. Kevin died in the early hours of April 1, 2006 after a Toyota Landcruiser being driven by Halvey crashed into the rear of a BMW car in which he was a back-seat passenger.

At Nenagh Circuit Court on Tuesday, Mr Halvey, 38, formerly of Allendale Hall, South Circular Road, Limerick, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Kevin Walsh, but guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving. He also pleaded guilty to being more than two-times over the legal alcohol limit on the date of the crash.

Judge Tomas Teehan was told that Kevin Walsh was travelling to Newry with two of his uncles to buy a car when the crash happened shortly after 5am near Toomevara, County Tipperary. The court was told the BMW being driven by Vincent Tierney was stopped at ^the time as there was cattle on the road.

Det Garda Declan O’Carroll said that Mr Halvey was arrested at the scene of the fatal crash and that subsequent breath tests showed there was an alcohol concentration of 83 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit at the time was 35 micrograms. Patrick Gageby, SC, for Mr Halvey, said there had been difficulties in establishing the exact circumstances of the collision. He said the DPP had changed his mind on three separate occasions and at one point had decided to withdraw the charges against his client.

“This matter is now three years down the road and not because Eddie Halvey was dithering and doddering,” he said adding: "It is a case, if contested, which would have been difficult.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Halvey-robbed-me-of-my.5266430.jp[/quote]

Superb, sully the poor young boys memory even further, you are a vile creature. Halvey was loaded and piles over the limit, this bears no similarity to what Farmer is referring to.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[tipptops]

@The Runt

Pretty sad dragging up that story just to provoke a reaction.

Well no…If you ahve lads pontificating that its a disgrace they are lowering the drink driving limit then its fair game to show them the consequences of said drink driving.

[The_Runt]

Can we add a poll to this thread?
I would be interested in seeing the results.

[The_Runt]

@tipptops*

Well no…If you ahve lads pontificating that its a disgrace they are lowering the drink driving limit then its fair game to show them the consequences of said drink driving.

He was over twice the existing limit. It has no relevance at all to what we are saying.

[Rocko]

@The Runt

Of course it matters if you’re living in Dublin. People can go to the pub and either walk home, hop on the bus or get a taxi. Those options just don’t exist in rural Ireland. I know plenty of old lads who go collect their pensions of a Friday and go to a local pub near the post office and dwell over 2 pints a few hours and have the craic with each other then drive home. For a lot of them it’s the only social interaction they have in the week.

They can still do that as long as at least one of their pints doesn’t contain alcohol. If the social interaction is that important then do it with that Guinness light stuff or else some alcohol free lager or whatever.

There are consequences to consuming alcohol, one of which is you cannot drive. That doesn’t mean you can’t go to the pub, nor does it mean you can’t drive home from the pub. You just need to change what you’re drinking.

I’m fully supportive of the need for improved rural transport schemes and cuts in those sparse resources will be hugely damaging to the plight of old single men in particular. But the social problem isn’t solved by drink-driving, it runs much deeper and is solved by improved services. An improved attitude to drink driving shouldn’t be any hindrance to continued social interaction.

[tipptops]

[quote=“myboyblue”]Superb, sully the poor young boys memory even further, you are a vile creature. Halvey was loaded and piles over the limit, this bears no similarity to what Farmer is referring to.

You should be ashamed of yourself.[/quote]

Er he was 83 mgs per 100.

Farmer is talking about it being lowered from 80 mgs to 50 mgs.

Get your coat and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

[myboyblue]

@tipptops*

Well no…If you ahve lads pontificating that its a disgrace they are lowering the drink driving limit then its fair game to show them the consequences of said drink driving.

Its a different matter entirely. Halvey drank for hours on en, piled into a car and drove to Dublin in the hard shoulder, his was a disgrace.

What farmer is referring to is entirely different, its about lowering an already low alcohol limit. It is not condoning what Hlavey done in any way shape or form. Had Halvey been caught on the road, he would have been taken from his car and arrested for drink driving, hence the law would have worked.

Poor effort, you’re off your game lately.

[The_Runt]

[quote=“tipptops*”]Er he was 83 mgs per 100.

Farmer is talking about it being lowered from 80 mgs to 50 mgs.

Get your coat and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.[/quote]

Time for you to get your coat me thinks. You’re confusing milligrams with micrograms.

The legal limit at the time was 35 micrograms. Patrick Gageby, SC, for Mr Halvey, said there had been difficulties in establishing the exact circumstances of the collision. He said the DPP had changed his mind on three separate occasions and at one point had decided to withdraw the charges against his client.