Late-night munchies cause increase in drink driving cases

Galway’s top Garda, Tom Curley, revealed the unusual trend, after confirming incidents of drink driving are on the increase in the city.

Chief Superintendent Curley said people are risking losing their licences because they get a “dose of the munchies” and drive the car while under the influence of alcohol in search of fast food restaurants.

“People are drinking. They get hungry. They hop into their cars and drive into the takeaways. They get a dose of the munchies . . . it’s a serious problem . . . and they go to the drive through takeaways while under the influence of alcohol,” he revealed.

Chief Supt Curley said that some people were getting caught over the limit up to 1pm in the afternoon, having had been drinking heavily the night before.

He said the message is not to drink and drive if you are over the limit, not matter what time of the day or night.

The local Garda crime figures prove drink driving is still a problem in the city.

There were 192 drink driving incidents recorded by Galway and Salthill Garda stations from January to the end of August this year.

That is 26 more than the same period last year; or an increase of 15%.

In response to Galway West TD, Seán Kyne, Chief Supt Curley said there has been an increase in young people who used to spend a lot of money on their cars getting caught for drink driving. “We are also seeing a trend of people in their late fifties, sixties and seventies (driving while drunk),” he added.

There were 1,908 Mandatory Alcohol Test checkpoints set-up in the city from January to the end of August. Some 7,308 breath tests were performed at those checkpoints during that period.

Simon Comer, a community representative on the JPC, quoted research from Australia which suggested more checkpoints should be carried out in Galway.

Chief Supt Curley said he would look into it but that he was pleased with that aspect of policing in Galway and had to spread his resources to all areas.