RoSPA Drinking and Driving Policy Paper 2007

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The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Drinking and Driving Policy Paper Updated May 2007 Alcohol Unit Labelling EC Regulations now require the labelling of the alcoholic strength of products on their containers, although it remains difficult for an individual to determine the amount they have consumed. A clearer method of labelling is perhaps required with standard units, a more traditional health warning such as on cigarette packets, or quite simply a message stating: ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’. Publicity and information concerning units of alcohol should stress the fact that it is not possible to accurately gauge how it will affect individuals and the only safe limit is zero. The drinks industry could give clearer advice on alcohol content on labels and at point of sale in pubs. Research is needed on the best way to convey the message on alcohol content. Alternatives to Drinking and Driving Greater efforts are also needed to help people choose not to drink and drive by providing alternative options. The price of soft drinks and No or Low Alcohol Drinks in pubs and restaurants should be lower. The lack of good public transport in rural areas is often cited as a particular difficulty because it means that people must use their cars to go to the pub. RoSPA would welcome a more enthusiastic marketing approach aiming at a positive image and introducing a price advantage to the consumption of low or no alcohol drinks. The Portman Group, an organisation set up by the drinks manufacturing industry to help prevent misuse of alcohol and promote sensible drinking, initiated a designated driver campaign in 1999. The ‘I’ll be Des’ scheme was then revamped in October 2000, aimed at 18 to 40 year olds, although applicable to all, it encourages people to designate a driver for the evening when socialising. A Lower Legal Limit for Young Drivers Studies have shown that for young drivers their accident risk increases substantially at blood alcohol levels of 20mg. Lower drink drive limits for novice drivers have been introduced in some countries (as part of their wider Graduated Driver Licence Systems) with evaluation studies showing that this results in fewer alcohol related fatalities in this age group. 20 The proportion of fatally injured 16 – 19 year old drivers who were over the legal blood alcohol limit rose from 13% to 18% between 1990 and 2002. (The provisional figures for 2003 show a further rise to 20%). However, the proportion of this age group who are over the limit is lower than for 20 – 29 year old and 30 – 39 year old drivers. 17
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Drinking and Driving Policy Paper Updated May 2007 Table 11: Percentage of Fatally Injured Drivers over the legal blood alcohol limit 2 Year 16-19 20-29 30-39 Age 40+ 1990 13 22 33 10 1991 11 29 24 13 1992 13 26 18 10 1993 20 28 26 10 1994 16 31 30 11 1995 18 28 26 13 1996 24 38 32 9 1997 25 23 26 12 1998 17 25 24 9 1999 22 31 31 7 2000 20 32 34 12 2001 18 35 25 14 2002 18 31 37 14 2003 18 33 28 12 2004 26 31 32 16 2005* 18 30 34 22 *Provisional data However, 17-24 year old drivers have the highest number of drink drive accidents per licence holder. Making allowance for the fact that youngest drivers (17-19) drive fewer miles each year, then their risk is the highest and because they are more likely to have accidents, the proportion of these which are drink related will be lower. Enforcing a separate limit for a specific group of drivers would require the Police to be able to check a driver’s age (or licence status). Breath alcohol ignition interlock devices (BAIIDs) Breath alcohol Ignition interlock devices are designed to prevent a car engine from starting if the person who breaths into the device has been drinking alcohol. They are used in at least 37 states in America, in one state in Canada and have been trialled in Australia. They are generally applied to repeat offenders, either as an alternative to disqualification or to follow a period of disqualification, as a type of probation period. Experience in the USA suggests that they are effective while the order is in force, with low rates of circumvention, but that re-offending occurs rapidly once the restriction is removed. Restrictions for one year seem to have no effect on subsequent behaviour; those for two or more years had a small effect. In Alberta in Canada where the programme is more closely supervised and supplemented by counselling, more longterm improvements have been experienced. 21 A review 22 of experience with such devices in various countries found that they reduced recidivism by between 285 to 65% while they are installed. However, once they are removed from the drivers’ cars, the rate of re-offending increases. In Britain, a pilot scheme is currently underway with drink drivers who have volunteered to participate to assess whether the use of alcohol ignition locks (alcolocks) are effective in discouraging re-offending. The government is giving courts the power to require drink drive offenders to only drive a vehicle with an alcohol ignition lock (alcolock) so that if the pilot scheme proves effective, the use of alcolocks can be quickly introduced as a sentencing option. 23 18
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