This article discusses various viewpoints about how to handle the drink driving that still occurs in a significant minority of lorry drivers in the UK. To most people in the haulage industry, the tolerance for drink-driving among lorry drivers is zero alcohol. However, during 1995, ten UK heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers tested positive for alcohol in fatal or serious injury accidents, and 50 tested positive in accidents with less serious casualties. Police and doctors have already urged the UK Government to reduce the permitted alcohol limit in drivers' blood from 80mg to 50mg. Many haulage companies do not permit drivers to drink when on duty, and include in their training information on how drinking affects driver behaviour. Some companies monitor any changes in mood or behaviour among their drivers. There is a need for vigilance, because the haulage industry has not totally solved the problem of drink-driving among its professional drivers. Some drivers, who cause deaths by their drink-driving, underestimate the time that alcohol takes to leave their blood after a heavy drinking session. Alcohol leaves the blood at the rate of about 15mg per 100ml of blood per hour, whatever the body size; heavy drinking can bring alcohol concentrations as high as 250mg per 100ml, which take many hours to clear.
Samenvatting