With an extended St Patrick's Day bank holiday weekend nearly upon us people are being urged to drive safely and responsibly as some motorists continue to take risks when it comes to drinking and driving.
The Driver Attitude and Behaviour Survey 2021 from the Road Safety Authority shows that one in four motorists admitted there were times when they may have been over the limit when driving the morning after a night out.
It shows that one in four agree "it is acceptable to drive short distances in your local area after consuming one alcoholic drink".
A total of 9% of motorists indicated they had consumed alcohol before driving in the past 12 months while 34% of motorists had two or more drinks before doing so.
A total of 48% of motorists admitted to travelling as a passenger in a car where they knew the driver had consumed alcohol, it said.
As part of the St Patrick’s weekend road safety appeal, An Garda Síochána has also released data which shows that from 1 January 2021 to 28 February 2022, there have been a total of 10,206 drink and drug-driving arrests - 1,398 of which were made this year.
It said 10% of these arrests took place between the hours of 7am and 12pm.
