Police on patrol RMGFH125
IN A MAJOR OPERATION clearly aimed at ‘morning after’ drink drivers, the PSNI is reported to have set up checkpoints on every major road coming into Enniskillen from 6am on Saturday morning.
Dozens of PSNI officers were thought to be have been involved in a the operation and early morning tailbacks reported on the Irvinestown Road, near SWAH, at the Dublin Road near the Killyhevlin Hotel, the Sligo Road and other main routes into the county town.
While the PSNI declined to comment on the specific nature of the operation, it is believed a large number of early morning drivers were breathalysed.
While late night checks for drink drivers are commonplace in the run-up to Christmas it seems the Police are now making a determined effort to stamp out ‘morning after’ drink driving.
More early morning checkpoints were reported early on Sunday morning at Mill Street and other locations in Enniskillen.
The PSNI would not divulge how many drink drivers were detected during the operation but it is thought likely that some motorists will inevitably have fallen foul of the 35microgram in 100ml of breath legal limit.
However the zero tolerance clampdown didn’t please some motorists who said they had to endure queues getting into town on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
One worker at a taxi company which didn’t want to be named said that traffic branch were around town for most of the morning on Saturday in marked and unmarked cars.
“A lot of customers complained about the checkpoints around town because they were stuck in traffic queues and had to spend longer in the taxi.
“This causes more hassle than good, especially at this time of year when people have lots of things to do. It didn’t matter to us too much, but it’s difficult for passengers when have places to go and things to do for Christmas,” he said.
This year new powers enabled PSNI officers to set up checkpoints specifically aimed at catching drivers who are over the limit.
New legislation gives the police more powers to stop motorists.
Previously, police needed a ‘reasonable suspicion’ about the manner of someone’s driving – seeing a moving traffic offence, or called to a collision before requiring a preliminary breath test from a driver.
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