PARC your car if you intend to drink!

Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Care on our roads

PARC Flies the First Road Safety Flag on the night of the launch of the

Stephen Gray Memorial Road Safety Art Competition

Click here for press coverage and photos

Road Safety Group PARC hoisted the first road safety flag on the night of the presentation of certificates in the competition initiated by Susan Gray Founder of PARC in memory of her late husband Steve. The Memorial Road Safety contest was held on 10th June 2008 in St Boden’s National School Culdaff, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. The other schools which submitted entries were: Scoil Mhuire, Gleneely, St. Columb’s Moville, St Patrick’s Boys School Carndonagh and Scoil Naomh Fionan Whitecastle. All five schools were presented with a PARC road safety flag. The purpose of the competition which commemorates her late husband who was killed in a car crash on St Stephen’s night 2004, was to raise awareness about road safety among the primary school children in Inishowen Co Donegal.

Steve Gray, while he worked as a hackney driver was also an accomplished artist. He worked with the children in some of these schools on a voluntary basis, teaching the children art and crafts and tutoring in the homework club.

Present at the ceremony tonight were invited guests Sergeant James Collins, Jenny Mc Laughlin of the RSA, Mr Eamonn Brown Road Safety Officer,Doengal and Mrs Ann Fogarty PARC Wicklow.

Thirty-four children received certificates and medals. The overall winner was Aine Mc Laughlin of Scoil Naomh Fionan, Whitecastle who was presented with the Stephen Gray Perpetual Trophy. Her artwork sent out a clear message about the importance of wearing your seat belt. Children from junior infants to sixth class took place in the competition.

Mr Finbarr Gallagher and Mr Ambrose Mc Creanor teachers in the Carndonagh Commuity School made the trophy. It depicts the Inishowen peninsula with a dove of peace.

Susan Gray and Ann Fogarty from PARC were delighted with the interest shown in the competition, the high standard of the entries and the large turnout on the night. PARC’s aim is to have all schools in Co Donegal involved in this competition in future years. The future of road safety lies in the education of the very young.

We are delighted to learn that Garda did a follow up on the 'Stephen Gray memorial road safety art competition’ the day after our award ceremony- in the schools that took part in our competition. Teachers had requested this at the beginning of the competition and PARC put forward their request to the Gardai in April so it was great news to hear that a Garda attended the schools on 11th June and included a demonstration of the breathalyser in their road safety programme.

Link to RSA Report
" Road Safety Education and Research briefing note on blood alcohol levels (BACs)"
(pdf format, requires Acrobat Reader)

ALL CRASH DRIVERS WILL NOW FACE DRINK TESTS
Click here to read what Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has promised to do in the near future.

A victory- in memory of all those who died on our roads

We cannot change the past but we feel that we have just changed the future - in memory of our precious lost loved ones.

PARC is delighted with yesterday's cabinet decision for the mandatory testing of all drivers involved in road traffic collisions for alcohol.

We appreciate the work that Mr. Ahern, Mr. Dempsey and Mr. Lenihan did in bringing this about.

However we will continue to watch the developments. We will be looking very closely at the wording of the amendment to our road traffic act and to the instructions given by the Garda Commissioner to his Garda members on the protocol to be used at the scene of a collision in future.

There are so many families who have lost loved ones in collisions where a simple test for alcohol was never carried out on the driver responsible at the time. And these families have that extra hurt to endure for the rest of their lives - the fact that their loved ones human rights were ignored in their last moments on this earth.

In future no one will have to endure the pain and suffering that so many families have endured in the past - knowing that the driver who ended their loved one's life had drink taken but did not pay the penalty. No one who has been seriously injured by such a driver will have to ask the question why? Why were they not tested at the scene or in hospital ? It will soon be automatic…

Donegal Garda force lead the way in changing procedures when attending serious injury and fatal traffic collision scenes.
Extract from correspondence received 8 October 2007 from Terry McGinn, Chief Superintendent, Letterkenny:

"I have issued instructions to all members of An Garda Siochana in the Donegal division on the proper procedure to be adopted in attending serious injury and fatal traffic collision scenes. I can confirm that it is now standard practice for all drivers involved in serious injury and fatal traffic collisions to be breath tested at the scene. A member of Inspector or Superintendent rank now attends the scene of each fatal collision to ensure that proper procedures are followed."

PARC believes that this is a step in the right direction. However, we in PARC believe that it is essential that all drivers involved in any collision attended by Gardai are tested so that there is a fair and just system in operation for all drivers, for all injured parties and for all the grieving families left behind.

OCTOBER 2007- Who is supporting PARC?
PARC have been campaigning now for 18 months for the Compulsory testing of all drivers involved in collisions for alcohol and drugs either at the scene or later in hospital. Since then the following organisations and individuals are backing us by signing our petition or by requesting our Government to introduce the necessary piece of legislation:

* An Taoiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern gave us a written promise weeks before the election that he would introduce this legislation 'without delay' if re-elected.
* Mr. Dick Roche - The Minister for European Affairs
* Mrs. Nuala O Loan - The Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
* A.G.S.I. - The Association of Garda, Sergeants and Inspectors
* R.S.A. - The Road Safety Authority
* I.I.F. - The Irish Insurance Federation
* Conor Faughnan - AA
* Fine Gael Party
* Sinn Fein Party
* The Green Party
* MEP Jim Higgins
* MEP Marian Harkin
* Dr. Jerry Cowley
* Ms Liz Mc Manus T.D.
* Senator Deirdre de Burca
* Mr. Joe Mc Hugh T.D.
* Councillor Padraig McLochlainn
* Councillor Jimmy Harte
* D.R.S.W.G. - The Donegal Road Safety Working Group
* The Donegal Emergency Services
* And 40,000 citizens of Ireland who signed our petition (in the five counties PARC have covered so far), including Garda members, doctors and nurses.

Any other groups or organisations interested in joining PARC in our call for compulsory testing for alcohol and drugs at collision scenes please contact us through our website contact form or email susangrayparc@eircom.net.

A year after it was set up in response to road deaths in Co Donegal, the
Public Against Road Carnage group wants drivers involved in all road traffic collisions to be breathalysed. A survey by PARC in 2006 reported the following disturbing facts:

1. If someone loses their life in a road traffic collision they are automatically tested for drink and drugs during their autopsy and yet this rule does not apply to the driver who may have contributed to their death. It is left to the discretion of Garda whether surviving drivers are tested.

2. Gardai vehicles are not equipped with breathalysers. Only 40 breathalysers in use in the republic at the end of 2005!

3. In March 2007 there are as few as 12 breathalysers in Donegal and at least two of these are for Traffic Corps.

4. Many breathalysers are located in Dublin waiting for distribution but there are problems with 'calibration' due to lack of personel.

5. Approximately one fifth of Gardai are trained to use breathalysers. A certificate is required by any Garda before he has the power to do a preliminary roadside test.

6. When it is necessary to test a driver at the roadside but an apparatus is not available, Gardai have only one hour to obtain a breathalyser, as this is the maximum period that a person can be required to remain at that place.

7. There are only 64 intoxilyser machines in stations throughout Ireland.There are 700 stations.Only 4 intoxilysers exist in Donegal Garda stations, Letterkenny, Glenties, Donegal and Buncrana.

8. Approximately one fifth of Gardai are trained to use these intoxilysers.

9. Gardai have three hours to complete both the preliminary test and secondary test carried out either at the Garda station or in hospital.

10. Two alcohol readings are taken in the station; the lowest reading is then reduced by 17.5% to allow for intoxilyser machine error! Gardai have informed us that they are aware that in some cases drivers are well over the limit but these drivers who initially fail random roadside breath tests for alcohol are walking free after passing a more 'forgiving' test back at the Garda station.

11. Doctors have informed PARC that they are continually called into stations to take blood samples because Gardai are not trained to use the intoxilyser machine and each call out charge is €200. They are also aware of many RTA's arriving in their hospital where the driver has consumed much alcohol but doctors are not being requested to test by taking a simple blood/urine sample!

12 There are 700 Garda stations throughout the republic of Ireland but 300 of these are without a patrol car.

July 2007- More gardai get training to use roadside breathalysers.

In 2005 there were only 40 roadside breathalysers in use throughout Ireland. Since random breath testing came in, that figure has now risen to almost 500.Since the traffic Corps get precedence for any breathalyser over the local garda station for use in their random check points and given the fact that a garda can only detain a driver at an accident scene for 1 hour before administering a breath test,are the chances of being tested after an accident any greater today?

More than 1,540 gardai have now been trained in the use of roadside breathalysers since mandatory alcohol testing was introduced last year.

This brings to over 3,700, or almost one in four of the over 13,100 garda force, the number of gardai trained to use this equipment.

A breakdown of how many Gardai - including the 920 members of the traffic Corps- are engaged in drink driving enforcement is not available from An Garda Siochana at present.

There are 450 gardai at present awaiting training in how to operate station-based intoxilysers but a number of training programmes for this training has been deferred this year, due to the additional workload created by the introduction of random alcohol testing.

Have you lost a loved one in a road traffice collision where the responsible driver was not tested? Click here to add your message to our survey

21 May 2007 - 'Sealed with a handshake' - agreement from our Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to PARC - compulsory testing at accident scenes for drink/drugs "without delay" if Fianna Fail are re-elected!

"Taoiseach and Cullen at odds on compulsory drink-drive test" - Irish Independent Thursday 24 May 2007 [More...]

July 2007
The Road safety Authority (RSA) is to recommend reducing the legal alcohol limit for drivers as part of its upcoming road safety strategy. It wants the blood alcohol limit reduced to 50mg/100ml, compared to the current level of 80mg/100ml. This would bring Ireland into line with countries such as Germany and France, which are regarded as leading the way in reducing road deaths. .

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) report April 2007.

Ireland is ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for alcohol related road crash deaths by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) who monitors the progress of European countries in tackling drink-driving fatalities.

Their report reveals that we are 5th highest out of 27 countries for drink-driving deaths and the worst for collisions involving 17-24 year olds.

Published in April 2007 it highlights the fact that Ireland has also got the highest drink-driving alcohol limit in Europe, at 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Their report on enforcement across all EU countries shows that a reduction in drink-driving limits (blood alcohol concentration), supported by proper enforcement and public-information campaigns, can reduce drink driving.

The EU report also hits out at Ireland for failing to produce official statistics on the number of drink-drive fatal crashes happening in Ireland since 2003. (28.2pc) *For the Irish figure, the council had to rely on a recent investigation carried out by a coroner into road deaths in 2003.
Fatalities are automatically tested - during their autopsy, for drink and drugs.
No reports of how many people have lost their lives on our roads as the result of drink driving have been done for the past 3 years.

Are our dead the only ones being tested for alcohol after a road traffic collision?

*PARC believes that if more detailed information were available- the number of fatalities caused by drinking could be much higher.

ETSC say that the authorities here have "an alarming lack of knowledge" about the role of alcohol in road deaths. Ireland is one of seven member states not properly monitoring efforts to cut drink-driving fatalities.

According to the ETSC report, only 4% of Irish drivers have been checked for alcohol over the last three years and only 3% were checked on more than one occasion. The figures are rising now since the introduction of random breath testing but the public believe that if we are to get a true figure then ALL drivers involved in road traffic collisions must be tested.

At the Oireachtas Transport meeting on 1st Nov. 2006, attended by PARC founder Susan Gray, the Garda Commissioner stated "before the introduction of the new system (mandatory breath testing), the people who were arrested recently would have got away with driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent that they might not have had full control of the vehicle. If we continued with the system whereby a Garda had to form an opinion before undertaking a breath test, a certain proportion of the people who were arrested recently would have slipped the net. Since the introduction of mandatory breath testing, people who used to engage in drink driving but were able to convince the Garda at the checkpoint that they were not under the influence of alcohol are being dealt with to good effect under the new legislation".

Why is there no system in place to prevent a driver who is involved in a collision from 'slipping the net'?