Newly released data from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveals that the number of fatalities in drink-drive accidents is at its highest level for more than a decade, with 300 deaths in Great Britain in 2022 where at least one driver was over the limit. That figure is the highest since 2009 and marks a worrying upward trend for the second year in a row, according to road safety charity IAM RoadSmart. In total, drink-drive fatalities accounted for 18% of all road deaths last year.
The number of all drink-driving casualties, regardless of whether they were fatal, has “steadily decreased” over the past decade, however. Across both fatal and non-fatal categories, 6,800 people were killed or injured in accidents where a driver was over the limit in 2022. Though this is up 1% on the previous year, it is the third-lowest figure recorded since 1979.
IAM RoadSmart is calling for further resources for police to carry out random roadside breathalyser testing and more rehabilitation courses. AA president Edmund King says that more police should be in cars to act as a visual deterrent, and more campaigns are needed that demonstrate the severe consequences of drivers’ drink-driving actions.
The 1967 Road Safety Act established the offence of driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, a limit that remains in place today in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is 50mg in Scotland. The RAC and other transport organisations are urging the UK Government to review and reduce the drink-drive limit
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