Further attention on the national drink driving limit in England and Wales has been prompted by a rise in the number of people seriously injured in drink drive accidents, whilst a recent RAC survey reports most people support a lowering of legal limit.
The statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT) show 1,170 serious injuries in reported drink drive accidents in 2015, up from 1,070 the previous year, which follows reports of a rise in failed road side breath tests in the same year. Whilst drink drive related fatalities fell by 40 to 200, the DfT says only the injury figures had statistical significance with the trend in number of deaths appearing stable since 2010.
The total number of casualties for drink drive accidents was 8,470 in 2015, a rise of 3% on the previous year. Total casualties though are still significantly down since 2009 and more so when seen in a longer term context; decades of decline saw an 88% fall in drink drive fatalities from 1979-2015, although much of the reduction in deaths is attributable to improvements in car and road safety.
Concern over the most recent figures may not materialise into a return to an upward trend, though England and Wales remain the only countries with a drink drive limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood where the Government does not intend to reduce the level. In December 2014 Scotland lowered its limit to 50mg, with subsequent police figures showing a 12.5% decrease in drink-drive offences in the first nine months.
Last year Malta, the only other country with the same limit, was reported as planning to reduce it to the common 50mg European level, whilst the Westminster Government said it has no plans to do so. Then Transport Minister Andrew Jones said "the government believes rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink-drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink-driving limit."
Blood alcohol content: press, politics and the public
A recent RAC survey claimed 59% of respondents supported lowering the legal drink drive limit, with 21% of those happy to see it go even further to 20mg per 100ml. The robustness of the figures though may be questionable, with previous public surveys claiming higher support. A 2014 survey reported 74% of UK drivers wanted a lower drink-drive limit, whilst a 2016 survey of nearly 5,000 people indicted 58.6% of people strongly supported a drop in the drink-drive limit, a further 18% expressed some degree of support.
Public surveys on drink driving have not just been confined to opinions on the drink drive limit itself; insurance companies and other businesses seem to value to press attention available from commissioning somewhat unscientific polls on the topic. In 2015 a survey by insurance company RIAS declared 31% of drivers that drink admitted to driving when over the legal alcohol limit - equivalent to 10 million UK adults. It warned those aged in their 30s appeared to be 'particularly irresponsible when it comes to drinking and driving', though the official statistics would suggest drivers in their 20s are the highest offenders. In 2013 another commissioned poll warned that 'morning after’ drink driving was on the increase with 46% of drivers having no idea or underestimated how long it took for alcohol to leave the body.
Indeed a significant issue with drink driving appears a lack of knowledge about what the drink driving legal limit is and how it works - understandable to the extent that one cannot calculate blood or breath alcohol content based on the number of units consumed. Despite a greater awareness of the many individual factors that can influence the metabolism of alcohol, such uncertainty may indeed feed into the public's general support for a lower legal level. Opponents of any reduction tend to warn of a detrimental impact on rural pubs, with suggestions of declining revenue figures for Scottish pubs as linked to the driving limit reduction, despite pressures also facing pubs south of the border.
In 2011 the Government announced the legal drink-drive limit in England would remain at 80mg per 100ml of blood despite an independent report calling for it to be brought in with most European countries. Instead the Government said it would focus on 'improving enforcement and education to tackle the drink and drug drivers who put lives at risk.' Subsequent campaigns followed, including a 2014 drink-drive advert reflecting on the last 50 years of changes. More recently adverts have targeted young men urging them to consider that 'a second drink doubles your chances of being in a fatal collision and missing out on all of it.'
Public health groups will no doubt continue to call on the Government to take heed of public support for a reduced limit as well as highlight evidence for its potential to reduce figures further. Such call may be strengthened if future trends indicate that decades of progress in changing drink drive attitutes may be coming to an end.
See here for the Think! road safety website, including facts and advice on drink-driving.
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