Lots of advocates and politicians want to put a stop to drunk driving, but in Ireland they are taking a bit of a different approach to drunk driving at least in Kerry County, which is located in the South Western part of the Ireland. Councilman Danny Healy-Rae actually put forward a motion to legalize drunk driving. His reasoning behind this is that in rural areas people don't have an easy way to get to and from their home without using a car. Public transportation isn't easy to use for these people, so it makes sense to let them drive drunk.
“A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there’s no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night in and night out, because they don’t want to take the risk of losing their licence,” said Councilman Danny Healy-Rae. “The pub is invariably the only social outlet left in rural Ireland and they’re getting scarce now – just one or two in every village.”
The current maximum blood-alcohol level is 50mg per 100ml of blood for most drivers and 20mg for learner and professional drivers. Although it varies depending on driver, this is roughly equivalent to less than one pint of beer. The level of fatalities on Irish roads dropped significantly over the past five years with the introduction of lower alcohol limits for drivers and alcohol checkpoints.
The motion passed put forward by Councilman Dan Healey-Rae passed the council vote 5 votes to 3. Healey-Rae understands the opposition and it still requires Government approval. If passed the people of Kerry County would be given special permits to drive drunk. It seems this is an important issue for Healey-Rae. I think we probably know why though.
I guess to a certain degree this makes sense. Living in Baltimore city it is much easier to get around if you are tipsy. Still… legalizing drunk driving? Guinness is my favorite beer so maybe I could just move to Ireland along with a bunch of bros! 🙂
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Source: Journal.ie