17/02/2003
PSNI operation tackles NI road safety
Over 70 people have been arrested by the PSNI over the weekend for alleged drink driving offences in an operation designed to reverse the province's poor road safety record.
During the eight-hour operation on Friday night, dubbed 'Operation Viper', police made 37 arrests while 34 people were detained on Saturday.
Supporting the PSNI's latest initiative, UUP MLA David McClarty said there should be "zero tolerance" so far as drink driving is concerned.
He said: “The present law which permits a limited amount of alcohol to be consumed merely entices the human nature in many of us to risk getting as close to that limit as possible.
“Introducing a zero limit on alcohol has proved effective in the drive to reduce road deaths in many Scandinavian countries and I think we should be seriously looking at this option in Northern Ireland.
“The campaign posters presently encourage us not to drink and drive but I regret that whilst the law permits a limited amount of alcohol to be consumed, it could prove too great a temptation for many.
“We desperately need to tackle the shocking problem of carnage on our roads. I would congratulate the PSNI on their ‘Operation Viper’ weekend initiative in reinforcing road safety but at the end of the day responsibility lies with individual motorists and each and every one of us must think seriously about how we drive."
So far this year 28 people have died on Northern Ireland's roads – a figure which is almost double the rate for the same period last year.
The latest road victim was a woman who died on Sunday night after her car hit a tree on the Waringsford Road, near Banbridge, shortly before 11pm.
(MB)
During the eight-hour operation on Friday night, dubbed 'Operation Viper', police made 37 arrests while 34 people were detained on Saturday.
Supporting the PSNI's latest initiative, UUP MLA David McClarty said there should be "zero tolerance" so far as drink driving is concerned.
He said: “The present law which permits a limited amount of alcohol to be consumed merely entices the human nature in many of us to risk getting as close to that limit as possible.
“Introducing a zero limit on alcohol has proved effective in the drive to reduce road deaths in many Scandinavian countries and I think we should be seriously looking at this option in Northern Ireland.
“The campaign posters presently encourage us not to drink and drive but I regret that whilst the law permits a limited amount of alcohol to be consumed, it could prove too great a temptation for many.
“We desperately need to tackle the shocking problem of carnage on our roads. I would congratulate the PSNI on their ‘Operation Viper’ weekend initiative in reinforcing road safety but at the end of the day responsibility lies with individual motorists and each and every one of us must think seriously about how we drive."
So far this year 28 people have died on Northern Ireland's roads – a figure which is almost double the rate for the same period last year.
The latest road victim was a woman who died on Sunday night after her car hit a tree on the Waringsford Road, near Banbridge, shortly before 11pm.
(MB)
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