When we all know of the dangerous associated with drink driving, why does it continue to persist? Orla Mahon speaks to students about their thoughts on road safety.
Amidst all the information campaigns that we have seen, there is no plausible deniability remaining - we all know that getting behind the wheel while under the influence is wrong. And yet, it continues.
In 2025 alone, An Garda Síochána recorded 190 deaths occurring on our roads. According to Alcohol Action Ireland, over one third of driver deaths involve alcohol. Despite years of public awareness campaigns and stricter enforcement, impaired driving persists on our roads.
Alcohol Action Ireland CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany recently stated on the topic, “Alcohol is involved in over a third of driver deaths on our roads. Around one in eight drivers in Ireland admit to having driven after consuming alcohol in the past 12 months, while Ireland has the lowest level of roadside breath testing in the EU.”
Donna Price, president of Irish Road Victims Association, has said, “Behind every statistic is a real person, a life cut short, a future extinguished, and a family left destroyed forever.”
In an effort to better understand why driving under the influence persists amongst young people, I spoke to university students about their perceptions of road safety, and the decisions people make when a night out ends.
A Need for Better Transport Links
One recurring theme quickly emerged, especially from students that come from areas outside of Dublin: many people do not necessarily plan to drive after drinking. Instead, the decision is often made late at night when the alternatives feel limited and judgement is already impaired.
Several students described the same scenario - pubs or house parties in towns where taxis are scarce, buses have stopped running (if they exist at all), and friends who live scattered across the area. In these situations, someone with access to a car may inevitably suggest driving others home, convincing themselves that they are ‘fine’ to get behind the wheel for a short distance.
Ashley, a Psychology student from Mullingar, stated that, “If someone’s had a pint or two and they want to get back home or to someone’s place, and there’s no other available transport, that’s going to impact their decision.”
Sarah, an English student, echoed similar sentiments, “It’s not that people don’t know the risks. But if you’ve been waiting over an hour for a taxi, and you don’t have the option of a bus, eventually someone will just suggest that they’ll drive.”
Ashley mentioned that she has directly seen the benefits of public transport links, following the launch of a new bus service in her town. “When the Local Link came to Mullingar, one of the first things I heard from someone was, ‘oh, if we go home early on the night out, we can probably get the bus home’. And for me, that shows that it’s a need in the area, especially for young people late at night. At least people wouldn’t be tempted to chance it after a drink or two, and put other people at risk as well.”
Ireland’s late-night transport links remain limited outside of cities. In the majority of towns, public transport services stop long before nightlife ends. Whilst more urban areas may have the option of late buses or more frequent taxi services, the further you move from the centre, the higher the reliance is on private vehicles.
Education, enforcement, and penalties all play an essential role in reducing dangerous driving on our roads. However, addressing the circumstances that lead people to make unsafe decisions behind the wheel may also form part of the solution. Improving late-night transport links, expanding taxi availability, or introducing targeted night bus services in nightlife areas could reduce the situations in which people feel that driving is the only option.
Nonetheless, none of these measures would eliminate drink or drug driving entirely - the responsibility ultimately lies with the individual behind the wheel. But if the goal is to save lives, we should also consider whether road safety policy should expand beyond the driver's decision, and begin to examine the transport systems behind it.
Social Attitudes and Normalisation
Whilst limited transport options may contribute to dangerous driving behaviours, students also noted another factor: how drink driving is socially perceived. Many said that in spite of an acute awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence, some behaviours exist in a grey area in the minds of drivers.
Short journeys, quiet roads, or the overestimation of one’s sobriety (e.g., that someone is “only a little over the limit”) can all contribute to people discounting the dangers of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
Joshua, a recent Journalism graduate, pointed out that in rural areas, especially those with a lack of Garda presence, communities have normalised travelling short distances under the influence. “It’s like tradition, almost. There wasn’t a stigma to drink-driving until recent decades, and in some areas, people just still don’t seem to care. The attitude seems to be reactive, not proactive - we only hear about drink driving when a drunk driver kills someone. But it’s going on all the time.”
Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke of a time where a co-worker gave them a lift home after closing up the bar where they work. “I knew he’d had a drink or two, we all had, but I genuinely thought he was grand, or that he was basically sober. We were joking about it, so I didn’t really take it seriously at the time. I only really thought about it more after I got home.”
This attitude reflects something referred to by road safety experts as risk normalisation - where dangerous behaviours become accepted due to perceived low risk. Especially when decision-making abilities are already impaired due to consumption of substances, people are more likely to consider getting behind the wheel to be a manageable risk, rather than a serious gamble with their life, and the lives of others.
Yet research from the Road Safety Authority consistently indicates that even small amounts of alcohol impairs reaction time, judgement, and coordination, all of which are essential for safe driving. What may feel like a ‘harmless’ decision in the moment can quickly become life-threatening.
Students also noted that peer pressure can be another influential factor. In social situations, people may downplay their own level of intoxication, with friends further reassuring them that they are capable of driving.
Situations like this highlights a wider cultural challenge - road safety campaigns have been successful in making driving under the influence unacceptable in principle, but some drivers still apply personal exceptions to the rule in practice.
Whilst improving late-night transport links may help tackle situations in which people feel that they have no option other than driving, addressing drink driving in Ireland must also involve challenging cultural attitudes that allow these dangerous decisions to feel acceptable in the first place. If we wish to prevent road deaths, we must begin to interrogate our cultural norms and attitudes around driving under the influence.
This is something that can occur on a small scale - for instance, this can involve challenging your friends on their risky driving behaviours. Cultural changes won’t happen overnight, but it’s something that we must all play a part in, in order to reduce the number of deaths on our roads.