The motive of the research was the anecdotal evidence, which suggested that many more people drink and drive, especially in rural areas of Northern Ireland, than the official statistics reveal. Common knowledge of these areas suggests that some drive whilst under the influence quite freely as the area is under policed, mainly as a result of the political situation in that area. These rural areas in Northern Ireland are quite dispersed and difficult to man at times, therefore enforcement is weaker and some drivers take advantage of this fact. This evidence was obtained form informal conversations with various locals in the province. Although this is a serious offence, people did not mind admitting to it in public. The authors then decided to prove this with more quantitative methods and explore it to understand the reasons behind the problem. Face to face interviews were conducted with young people (age between 18-26). Absolute confidentiality was used when conducting all surveys and all identities were disguised. The respondents admitted not only to drink-driving, but also how far they travelled under the influence and what techniques they used to avoid police. Some of the results were alarming, and we believe that the local authorities in Northern Ireland should pay urgent attention to these findings, especially when given the fact that in Great Britain as a whole about 20% of drivers admit to regular drink-driving offences. (Author/publisher).
Abstract