A road safety expert says lawyers are looking to take advantage of loopholes in the Road Traffic Act to help their clients escape drink driving convictions.

It comes after new figures show that only 40% of drink driving cases before the District Courts since January of 2013 have led to convictions, with the rate for the first five months of 2015 standing at just 28%.

The Department of Justice statistics in this morning's The Irish Times shows that Kerry courts had the lowest conviction rate at 28%, while Offaly's had the highest at 68%.

Noel Gibbons is Mayo County Council's Road Safety Officer. He says many lawyers are actively challenging road traffic legislation:

The figures are in stark contrast to conviction rates in England and Wales, where 97% of all drink driving cases result in conviction.

Of those convicted, just two in 10 had their licence numbers recorded in court for endorsement.