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Government announces bold package of measures to
improve road safety
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Measures include £350,000 for a competition to bring a
new mobile breathalyser to the market
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£480,000 for the RAC Foundation to trial an
innovative new approach to road casualty investigation, looking
more closely at what is really causing road collisions
Drink drivers are to face swifter justice thanks to new roadside
breathalyser technology that will allow police to gather
on-the-spot proof.
Mobile evidential breath tests will allow police to gather early
evidence of drink driving, by taking a breath sample from suspect
drivers at the roadside. The instant test means they will not
need to be taken back to a police station to obtain evidence as
is currently the case.
It will mean those marginally over the drink drive limit will not
have extra time to ‘sober up’ and stand a chance of passing a
later test at the station.
It will also free up crucial police time and resources.
As part of a continued crackdown on those motorists who choose to
drink and drive, the government is committing £350,000 for a
competition which will see companies bring the new mobile
breathalyser to market.
Roads Minister said:
The drink drive limit has helped to give us one of the safest
road networks in the world but there is always more we can do.
This new mobile breathalyser technology will enable the police
to enforce the alcohol more rigorously limit on those who still
choose to drive after drinking, putting others at risk.
The latest figures show that fewer people died on British roads
in 2015 as a result of drink driving than in any year since
records began.
In 2016, more than 460,000 people undertook breath tests in 2016,
with almost 59,000 testing positively or refusing a test.
The competition is being run by PACTS (Parliamentary
Advisory Council for Transport Safety) in the summer, and will
invite companies to submit proposed technologies which will
rapidly calculate the amount of ethanol in exhaled breath for use
at the roadside. It is expected police forces throughout
the UK will be able
to use the device by summer 2020.
The government has also announced investigation teams dedicated
to analysing the cause of road collisions will be deployed
to UK roads later
this year, as part of plans to improve road safety.
Supported by £480,000 of government funding,
the RAC Foundation
will lead the trial of an innovative new approach to road
casualty investigation alongside police forces, with dedicated
teams carrying out in-depth research in selected cases to get a
better understanding of what is really causing collisions on our
roads.
Drawing on the example of the internationally recognised Accident
Investigation Branches for Rail, Maritime and Aviation,
collisions will be analysed in 3 regions over 3 years.
RAC Foundation
Director Steve Gooding said:
We are keen to seize the opportunity to work with
the DfT, the
Police and others to explore the scope for learning more about
the causes of the road crashes that continue to blight - and
curtail - so many lives, in particular to establish the
practicalities, costs and full benefits of tackling and
pre-empting them more effectively.
RAC Foundation
will work alongside DfT, Highways
England, DVSA and the
police to gather learning that will help inform government’s
long term strategy for road safety.
