A man in his 60s was arrested last night for driving a bus when he was nine times over the legal limit.

The man was driving the bus at the time, but Gardai have confirmed to Independent.ie that there were no passengers on board when he was stopped.

Gardai pulled the bus, which is believed to be a single-decker private coach, over last night at around 7pm on the M7 near Newbridge, Co Kildare.

The driver was subsequently arrested and brought to Naas garda station and charged in relation to the incident. He is due to appear in Naas district court on the 17th of this month.

Naas Roads Policing Unit arrested bus driver on M7 last night for drink driving. Driver was 9 times over the limit.



Court to follow. pic.twitter.com/zZkOlgk6gs — An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) October 3, 2018

Drink driving limits are lower for professional drivers than for standard motorists.

New drink driving legislation came into effect this summer.

Under the new law a driver who is found to be over the limit will now face an automatic driving ban for three months.

The limit stays the same at blood alcohol level of 50mg for experienced drivers. However, it is lower for learner drivers and professional drivers, at a blood alcohol level of 20mg.

One standard drink is considered enough to put someone at risk of going over the limit, which includes a glass of beer, a small glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits. However the amount which will put someone over the limit varies from person to person on a number of factors. Road safety experts advocate that nobody planning to drive would consume alcohol.

According to the Road Safety Authority (RSA), alcohol is estimated to be a factor in one in three fatal collisions.

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