Irish drivers are among the least likely in Europe to be checked for drink driving, according to research carried out in 23 countries.
Only 7 per cent of Irish drivers were checked for alcohol in the three years prior to the research. Of the 7 per cent, 4 per cent were checked only once and 3 per cent more than once.
Ireland was ranked second last in the list of most-checked drivers, with Italy propping up the list with just 4 per cent of drivers being checked for drunken driving at least once in the previous three years.
Ireland figures were boosted by a surge in checks late last year. Over the six-week Christmas period last year, there were 1,622 arrests for drink-driving compared to 1,558 in the previous year, an increase of 4 per cent. The gardaí carried out 26 per cent more breath tests, with 2,262 people tested compared with 1,794 in the previous year.
But 42 deaths over the same period prompted safety campaigners to call for the immediate introduction of random breath testing of drivers, a move long proposed by the Government as part of its road safety strategy.
Ireland has a long way to go to catch up with its EU neighbours. On average across the bloc, 26 per cent of drivers said they had been tested in the three-year period, most often in Finland, where 25 per cent had been tested once, and 35 per cent more than once. Estonia, Slovakia, Sweden, and Croatia also had check rates of 40 per cent or more.
The previously-unpublished report, Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe (Sartre), was completed last year and represents the most up-to-date data on European driver attitudes. It is the third in a series of such reports, funded by the European Commission, which began in the early 1990s. More than 1,000 drivers were interviewed for the study in each country.
The interviews were carried out late in 2003, the first full year of penalty points for speeding in Ireland.
The survey shows that almost three-quarters of Irish drivers (74 per cent) think they are safer drivers than their fellow motorists, second only to Italy where 77 per cent said they thought their driving was less dangerous than other drivers.
Ireland was followed by Portugal (73 per cent), Germany (72 per cent), Hungary (70 per cent)and Croatia (70 per cent).
Finns were the least confident in their own abilities, with only 45 per cent believing they had an edge on their counterparts, a full eight percentage points behind Sweden, where 53 per cent thought they were the best drivers.
Despite the apparent confidence in their own abilities, the report showed Irish drivers were the most responsible when it came to sticking to the speed limit. Fewer Irish drivers (18 per cent) than in any other European country said they enjoyed driving fast. Next up the list was Croatia, where 26 per cent said they enjoyed driving fast.
In Poland a whopping 45 per cent said they enjoyed speeding, followed by Cyprus (44 per cent), Sweden (43 per cent) and Germany (43 per cent), where the autobahns offer motorists unadulterated limit-free driving on straight stretches of top quality road.
Some 20 per cent of drivers here said they made at least one phone call each day while driving, compared to an average of 28 per cent.
In Cyprus, 46 per cent said they made calls while driving, 45 per cent in Estonia, 44 per cent in Italy. Lower rates were recorded in France (12 per cent), Britain (14 per cent) and Germany (15 per cent).
Only 13 per cent of Irish drivers were caught speeding in the three years prior to the survey. This compares to 46 per cent in the Netherlands, 36 per cent in Switzerland and 36 per cent in Germany. France recorded the lowest rate of speeding penalties, with only 8 per cent having been caught in the previous three years. Portugal, Britain and Sweden all recorded the same rate of 9 per cent.
On the issue of seat belts, Finland scored best with only 5 per cent saying they believed wearing a belt was not necessary if they drove carefully. In Ireland, 22 per cent believed this was the case, while in Cyprus 34 per cent did.
So far this year 153 people have lost their lives on the State's roads, including five teenage schoolgirls who died in Monday's bus crash tragedy near Navan, Co Meath. The figures represent an increase of 15 on the same period last year.
In 2004, 375 people died on the roads, an increase of 40 on 2003. That year saw a reduction of 41 fatalities, largely due to the fact that it was the first full year of penalty points for speeding.
22 per cent believe it is not necessary to wear a seatbelt if you drive carefully
74 per cent believe their own driving is less dangerous than other drivers
18 per cent enjoy driving fast
20 per cent make at least one phone call a day behind the wheel
4 per cent say they had been checked for drink driving once
3 per cent say they had been checked for drink driving more than once
