Drink Drivers and Speedaholics - Deaf as well as Dumb!

Breath Test Cartoon
There is a lot of debate in Irish pubs and streets about Polish people. The rhetoric almost always involves a number of now cliched phrases like, "Sure, they're almost the same as us", "they're as catholic as we were 40 years ago", "a hard-working bunch", "mighty people to drink", "family-oriented", etc. etc.

Easter road carnage
One thing Irish and Polish people certain1y have in common is their brutal record for causing havoc roads. 1,411 Polish people were arrested over the Easter weekend for drink driving, while the now typical feast-time road carnage amounted to 47 people being killed and 483 people being injured. Most of the accidents were alcohol related.

Since August last year the Polish police have been allowed to confiscate cars on the spot from drivers who have drunk more than the legal limit. No matter how strict the approaches in Ireland and Poland though, some drivers just don't get it and the stats. continue to rise.

The cops in Ireland have reported a 37% increase in drink driving related incidentes compared to last year. 441 people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving during the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Of course when alcohol is married to speed (either accelarative or narcotic)it's a complete recipe of disaster and is statisitically the biggest killer on Irish roads as well as Polish.

I'm not the sort of person who advocates any gvt. enforcing zero tolerance but when it comes to road safety I think the consequences are far too grave to let people get away with inexcusable carelessness and possibly destroy lives down the line.

Tip of the Alcho-pop
But drink driving is one (albeit a very serious one) symptom of profound underlying issues related to alcohol and it's overall impact on society as a whole. Until such time as alcohol glorification through mainstream daily advertising is banned and the powerful alcoholic drinks lobbies are exposed for their irresponsible and manipulative approach in romanticising drink as a harmless product to be consumed regardless of the consequences (I don't buy their pseudo-attempts at pushing for moderate drinking) then any shock and awe adverts or political debates on TV not watched by the culprits are pathetically short of what's needed.

But it's a bit rich for citizens who are so unapologetically car dependant (and too lazy to either walk to the pub or too greedy to sacrifice the cost of 2 drinks so they can afford a taxi home) and so proud of boasting about its' drinking habits while living up to and emulating them each weekend to then have a mid-week mourning session about the road tragedies that have just passed. Maybe it would be better to not be afraid to check with the people who we see getting more pissed if they have a safe way home.

The warnings are so obvious, the laws so clear, the consequences so stark, and yet the alarm bells seem to ring so hollow amongst the chief culprits - people of my gender and age. So lads, if any you are reading this, and if you have a habit of drink driving, then please fucking stop before you injure or kill another innocent human being.

One wish from the Genie Bottle
If I was asked to impose one guideline to make the roads safer I would make it mandatory for all people who wish to drive to meet either the victims of drink driving and speeding or their families - maybe that would bring the reality home to our society more than advertisements that can be easily flicked over from to the latest sports news.