The Finnish Road Accident Investigation Teams studied a total of 255 occupant-fatal motor accidents last year. According to preliminary figures, 66 of the crashes were alcohol-related, claiming 80 lives. The preliminary figure for 1996 was 74 deaths. Fatal drink-drive accidents peaked in the summer. The bulk (44) of the crashes were single-vehicle accidents. Half of the accidents happened between midnight and 6 am. The typical drink-driver was a young man. As many as 38% of the offenders had an earlier conviction of drink-driving. A total of 44% of the drivers used alcohol regularly to get drunk more often than once a week and half of them drank daily. The drivers' average blood alcohol concentration was 0.18%. In this report compiled from the statistics, the Traffic Safety Committee of Insurance Companies (VALT) proposed that, following the practice adopted in many other countries, Finland should tackle the drink-drive problem by defining the signs of intoxicant addiction that lead to suspension of driving licence and by stipulating the conditions on which suspended licences can be returned to drivers caught drinking and driving. In 1996, Finland adopted a directive which bans issuance and renewal of driving licence for applicants or drivers who are either addicted to alcohol or cannot help driving under the influence of alcohol.
Abstract