Gardaí Probe 'Drink Drive Culture' Among Foreign Nationals.

Gay Byrne, chairman of the Road Safety Authority has revealed the group is working alongside gardaí to investigate claims of a drink driving culture among foreign nationals on Ireland's roads.

Mr Byrne insisted that there are as many home-grown bad drivers and without official statistics such allegations must be treated with scepticism.

However, he added the RSA had heard complaints about a prevalence of drink driving among some nationalities.

He said: "There is some indication that with some of the other nationalities, that just as there is a culture of speed here, there is also a huge culture of speed and drink driving in those nationalities.

"The suggestion has been made that they tend not only to drink before driving but they actually drink while driving. They like to have drink with them when they're driving," he said.

"This is horrendous of course, and simply not allowable. But I don't think there is any particular trend there that we can spot at the moment."

Mr Byrne was speaking after a weekend of road carnage in which seven people died, four of which were foreign nationals.

(VB)