RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

January 21, 2009
DISAPPOINTING RISE IN UNDER-25s DRINK DRIVING OVER CHRISTMAS

An 11 per cent increase in the proportion of under-25s failing breath tests over the Christmas period shows the battle against drink driving is never-ending, said the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers show that of the 48,214 under-25s who were breathalysed during December, 2,709 tested positive, failed to provide or refused a breath test. During the previous year’s campaign, 43,144 under-25s were breathalysed, of whom 2,182 tested positive.

Overall, police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland breathalysed 183,397 drivers between December 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009 - an increase of more than 25,000 on the number breathalysed during the 2007 campaign.

A total of 9,148 of the drivers tested positive, failed to provide or refused a breath test. Despite the increase in drivers breathalysed, the percentage of those who tested positive remained static – at nearly five per cent. A quarter of the positive breath tests were given following a collision.

During the festive campaign, police forces also conducted 481 field impairment tests, which are used to detect if drivers are under the influence of drugs. More than 28 per cent of those tested were arrested.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA head of road safety, said: “The figures from the Christmas campaign show that the battle against drink driving is never-ending. After 25 years of drink-drive campaigns, it is disappointing that we still have more than 9,000 people caught in a single month and this is a month when ‘don’t drink and drive’ publicity is at its most prominent.

“This clearly demonstrates the need for the police to be out there enforcing the law.

“Only a quarter of the positive breath tests were given following a collision, and this shows that drivers should not be fooled into thinking that they will only be tested if they crash.

“And with more than a quarter of those who took a field impairment test being arrested, it shows we have a long way to go in dealing with the almost hidden problem of drug-driving.

“The Government is currently consulting on changing the law to make it easier to enforce drink-drive and drug-drive laws. In its response, RoSPA will be urging ministers to lower the drink-drive limit and give police wider powers to breath test.”

RoSPA has campaigned for a reduction in the legal alcohol limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg for a number of years. This reduction would save around 65 lives and 230 serious injuries on Britain’s roads each year. Between 50mg and 80mg you are two to two-and-a-half times more likely to be involved in an accident and six times more likely to be in a fatal crash than with no alcohol in your system.