Road safety chief defends automatic disqualification bill

The chair of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said she is “very disappointed at the level of opposition” to proposed laws to impose mandatory disqualification on drink drivers.

The Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty — Drink Driving) Bill, spearheaded by Transport Minister Shane Ross, provides for drivers to face automatic disqualification if they are above a certain limit.

Drivers with alcohol levels between 50mg and 80mg will be disqualified for three months instead of receiving three penalty points.

However, the bill has faced criticism from rural TDs who say it will contribute to “rural isolation” where public transport provision is poor.

RSA chair Liz O’Donnell, a former Progressive Democrat TD, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme: “It is already a criminal act to drink and drive at the low level What the Minister is attempting to do is merely to make the penalty tougher so that it acts as a better deterrent against low level drinking and that is to replace the penalty points and the fine with a mandatory disqualification for three months.”

She said the bill provides for a “reasonable intensification of the penalty for what is already a criminal offence”.