Drink drive figures for 2018: will a new national alcohol strategy respond?

[EDIT: Latest figures September 2018 here]

The latest figures for alcohol-related road accidents and causalities were released earlier this month, indicating a 7% rise on the previous year and the highest level since 2012. Whilst long term trends show drink driving has declined significantly, more recent rises have led to calls from some groups to revise the drink driving limit.

The statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2016 an estimated 9,040 people were killed or injured in drink-drive accidents, a rise of 7% from 8,470 in 2015. The total number of accidents where at least one driver or rider was over the legal alcohol limit rose by 6% to 6,070 in 2016. The final estimate of drink-drive fatalities of 230 for 2016 is higher than in 2015, but the rise was reported as not statistically significant and fatalities appear stable since 2012.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams described the figures as “very disappointing” and that the Government "must be vigilant" as the rising figures could be the start of a trend. He also stated:

"We need to understand whether it is the hardcore of habitual heavy drinkers or a growth in the number of drivers who admit that they occasionally drive knowing they may well be over the limit.

"What is clear is that a majority of drivers (59%) would support a reduction in the legal blood-alcohol limit – similar to that in Scotland - where it has been cut from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to 50 milligrams – or lower.”

England, Wales and Malta are the only countries with a drink drive limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood whilst most of Europe has a legal limit of 50mg of lower. As such various groups have called on the Government to revise the legal limit and may hold out hope for change in the forthcoming national alcohol strategy. However the Government said in June that it has "no current plans to lower the drink drive limit and considers rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers to be effective deterrents." In 2011 the Government rejected the reccomendations from an independent review to lower it. In December 2014 Scotland lowered its limit to 50mg with 'the lowest levels on record' reported earlier this year.

In 2016 a Public Health England evidence review concluded that 'enforced legislative measures to prevent drink-driving are effective and cost-effective' and that 'policies which specify lower legal alcohol limits for young drivers are effective at reducing casualties and fatalities in this group and are cost-saving.' It also stated that reducing drink driving could act as a 'complementary component to a wider strategy that aims to influence drinkers to adopt less risky patterns of alcohol consumption.' The new national alcohol strategy is expected next year.

Breath test data for 2017 will be published in September 2018 alongside with the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2017 Annual Report (RRCGB).