Drinking and driving is a serious and avoidable road safety problem. Over the past two decades a mixture of improved enforcement, tougher penalties, and a programme of publicity campaigns have significantly reduced the number of drink-drive accidents. However, this trend has now reversed and the annual numbers of accidents and casualties involving illegal alcohol levels are rising again. Between 1993 and 1995 drink-drive fatalities reached their lowest level of an estimated 540 per annum, around one third of the 1979 level. Estimates for 1996 indicate the 580 people died in drink-drive accidents. The provisional estimates for 1997 suggest that there was no major reduction in the numbers last year. These represent a significant proportion of fatalities in road accidents; one in six people killed on our roads die in drink-drive accidents. On average, more than 10 people are still dying every week in drink-drive accidents and over 300 more are injured. This article examines the subject of drinking and driving by first explaining how a drink-drive accident is defined. It then sets out the alcohol test limits which apply in the United Kingdom. This is followed by a description of the sources of data on drinking and driving and an assessment of the reliability of these data. The characteristics of drink-drive accidents are examined and the article concludes with an analysis of the road user groups involved in drink-drive accidents. (A)
Abstract