The legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in South Australia was lowered from 0.08 to 0.05 g/100mL on 1 July 1991. The effect of this change on late night drink driving was assessed by two roadside breath alcohol surveys, one before and one after the reduction in the legal limit. The current survey was conducted in 1993 to gauge the effect two years later. The surveys were conducted from 10 pm to 3 am by the NHMRC Road Addident Research Unit in a similar manner to six previous surveys over the previous 15 years. A small reduction in drink driving, both legal and illegal, was found after the lowering of the limit in 1991. Two years later, in 1993, the level of drink driving had continued to decrease and was at the lowest level observed in the seven years of observation during the roadside surveys. Seatbelt usage by both drivers and passengers was around 97% in 1993, the highest level observed since 1987 when recording of seatbelt usage first began in the roadside surveys. (A)
Abstract