Reported road casualties
in Great Britain involving illegal alcohol levels:
2022
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “While the number
of people killed by drink-drivers is still thankfully far lower
now compared to the final decades of the 20th century, the fact
we're back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people
drinking and driving as we were in the late 1980s is abhorrent.
It's abundantly clear that a hard core of people, especially men,
continue to put the lives of all road users at risk by choosing
to get behind the wheel after consuming too much alcohol. This is
the case across the UK, including in Scotland which has had a
lower blood alcohol limit than in England and Wales since 2014.
“The UK might have an enviable record on road safety compared to
many other countries, but there's no getting away from the fact
that overall casualty numbers aren't really decreasing anymore.
We urge the Government to work closely and collaboratively with
experts to put in place a clear action plan for reducing these
terrible statistics going forward. Every life lost on our roads
is one too many.
“The data for Scotland suggests merely reducing the legal
drink-drive limit isn't enough. Drivers need to be prevented from
being able to drink and drive in the first place, or at least
believe there's a very good chance of being caught. Data suggests
a significant number of drink-drive offences are committed by
reoffenders, so there's a good case for fitting alcolocks which
stop someone over the limit from starting a car. But there's also
a very strong argument for an increase in enforcement, something
that will always be a challenge for as long as police resources
are tight.
“We're also pleased to see data on drug-driving is now being
collected, as recommended by PACTS. Again, initial figures
suggest the situation is getting worse but as the Department for
Transport has noted there is more work to be done to ensure the
data is as robust as possible.”
