Better be worry then sorry

[alz]

Judges act on tough new laws as part of major clamp

DRINK drivers will face a minimum one-year ban from this week.

The Irish Independent has learned judges have been ordered to quadruple the minimum mandatory three-month sentence for those found guilty of driving over the legal alcohol limit.

And those convicted of drink driving can only apply to have their licence restored if they have been banned for two or more years.

Even then they will have to have served two-thirds of the ban before they can apply.

Drink driving suspects who refuse to give a sample of breath and urine will be banned for four years for a first offence - that is up from the current two-year period.

The disclosure comes as new figures show 444 people were arrested for drink driving last week.

The new measures were started on March 5 by Transport Minister Martin Cullen without any public fanfare.

They were part of the Road Traffic Act, published last July, but were not enacted until this month.

Details of the order only emerged yesterday when district justices began imposing the mandatory one-year ban in the West of Ireland.

One district justice told the defendant he had no choice but to increase the minimum ban from three months to one year.

The new measures include:

* Minimum mandatory disqualification for drink driving up from three months to one year.

* The maximum is six years, up from four years.

* Drink drivers who refuse to give a urine or blood sample get automatic four-year ban for first offence, double the two years which applied up to March 5.

* This rises to a automatic ban of six years for a second offence.

Until now, drivers getting even a small disqualification could apply to their district court to have their licence restored after serving half the ban.

In a radical change, the facility to apply for the restoration of the licence before the full ban is served is confined to those put off the road for two or more years. And they will only be able to apply after serving two thirds of the disqualification instead of half.

Anyone receiving a one-year ban will not be able to drive until the full period has elapsed.

The move was welcomed by Road Safety Authority (RSA) chief executive Noel Brett.

"We are delighted that judges have now been equipped with a tougher regime," he told the Irish Independent. Gardai have warned motorists that the drink-drive campaign will continue throughout the year.

For the full year of 2006, Garda figures show 17,788 drink-driving incidents were recorded compared with 13,369 in 2005.