Christmas drink-drive figures show enforcement is key

A 20 per cent fall in the number of people failing breath tests over the Christmas period clearly demonstrates the need for tough enforcement if the battle against drink-driving is to be won, RoSPA said today.

The success should be used as a "springboard" to tackle the needless deaths and injuries caused by those who get behind the wheel after drinking.

Giving the police extra powers could lead to even more improvements.

Police in England and Wales breath-tested a record 155,000 drivers during the festive campaign (6.4 per cent more than the previous year), but encouragingly the number of motorists failing or refusing to take a test fell from 9,658 to 7,774.

Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Although this still means around 250 people a day were caught drinking and driving during December, the police are to be congratulated on the major progress made on the previous year.

"It shows that drink-driving is not inevitable, and that it can be reduced if the correct measures are taken.

"Enforcement needs to be high profile and visible so that it is a deterrent as well as a means to catch people who have been irresponsible enough to drink and drive.

"We want the current drink-drive limit reduced from 80mg to 50mg, which 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.

"RoSPA would also like to see random breath-testing and will be pressing for these changes when the Government consults on ways to deal with drinking and driving this year.

"The Christmas figures demonstrate the benefits of motorists realising the police are out on the road looking for drink-drivers. Giving the police extra powers, such as reducing the limit and being able to test anywhere and at any time, would be an opportunity to launch new campaigns to explain the reasons behind the measures, particularly to new and young drivers.

"We cannot be complacent because 540 people were killed in road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels in 2006, while in 1999 we had managed to reduce that number to 460."