THERE WAS A heavy garda presence on the M50 last night as gardaí set up a checkpoint in a bid to catch drink drivers.
At 9.30pm last night, gardaí, assisted by the armed support unit and divisional traffic units, performed the first ever checkpoint on the motorway.
Officers breathalysed 164 motorists and one person was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. There were also a number of drivers caught without tax and/or NCT.
Two cars were seized during the operation which lasted just over an hour. It is expected that more checkpoints are likely on the motorway in the future.
The latest crackdown comes as Transport Minister Shane Ross says he is considering “naming and shaming” drink drivers in the same way tax defaulters are.
He told RTÉ’s News At One a database of people who have been convicted of drink driving is one of several measures his department is reviewing in a bid to tackle drink driving.
Ross described 2016 as a “disastrous year” for road safety – 187 people lost their lives on Irish roads last year, 25 more than in 2015.
In a crackdown on drink driving over Christmas, gardaí arrested over 730 people on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol – a 34% increase on December 2015.
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