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 Under the HRO scheme, once their period of disqualification has been completed, offenders are required to satisfy the DVLA’s Medical Adviser that they do not have a drink problem and are fit to drive before their licences are returned. An evaluation of the scheme 4 indicated that it successfully identifies drivers whose subsequent behaviour shows that they pose a genuine high risk. However, changes were recommended to enable identification of multiple offenders more readily. Enforcement Levels Information from breath tests carried out at the roadside following a moving traffic offence, road accident or suspicion of alcohol use, is available for England and Wales from the Home Office. Home Office figures for England and Wales for 2003 5 show that just over 534,000 roadside breath tests were conducted (6% fewer than the previous year), of which 106,000 (20%) were positive or refused – 3% more than the previous year. Table 2: Roadside screening breath tests: England and Wales: 1994-2004 thousands 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 No. of 679 703 781 800 815 765 715 624 570 534 578 breath tests No. positive 93 94 101 104 102 94 95 100 104 106 103 or refused % positive 14 13 13 13 13 12 13 16 18 20 18 or refused No. of convictions 90 93 96 100 93 89 86 85 90 89 96 Enforcement levels are critical to detecting and deterring drink drivers. The number of breath tests carried out increased dramatically during the 1990s but has been falling since 1998, and by 2004 the number of breath tests conducted was lower than in 1994. Despite the drop in the number of breath tests, more drivers are failing the tests, suggesting that the police are better at spotting drivers who are likely to be over the limit, or that more people are drinking and driving. However, Police forces vary widely in the number of tests they conduct, from just 390 breath tests per 100,000 population in some force areas to almost ten times that rate of 3,390 per 100,000 population in other areas. 5 This ‘postcode’ lack of consistency is worrying, especially when combined with the findings of research which found that drivers feel they would not get caught by the Police if they were over the limit. Half of drivers felt it was “unlikely” or “very unlikely” that they would get caught if they drove over the limit once a week for a year. 1 3
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Drinking and Driving Policy Paper Updated May 2007 Drink Drive Limits and Penalties in Other Countries 6 Table 3: Drink Drive Limits and Penalties in the European Union Country Limit Disqualification (Max) Imprisonment (Max) Austria 50mg/100ml 1 month 3 months/3 yrs (if fatal) Belgium 50mg/100ml 8 days - 5 years 15 days - 3 months Denmark 50mg/100ml 24 - 30 months Nil Germany 50mg/100ml 6 months - 5 years 5 years (if fatal) Greece 50mg/100ml 3 - 6 months 1 - 12 months Finland 50mg/100ml 3 months - 2 years up to 3 months France 50mg/100ml 1 month - 1 year 2 months - 2 years Ireland 80mg/100ml 1 year 6 months Italy 80mg/100ml 15 days - 1 year 1 - 6 months Luxembourg 80mg/100ml 3 months - 15 years 1 day - 3 years Netherlands 50mg/100ml 6 months - 10 years 3 months - 3 years Portugal 50mg/100ml 15 days - 1 year Nil Spain* 50mg/100ml 3 months - 5 years 1 - 6 months Sweden 20mg/100ml 3 months - 3 years 1 month - 2 years UK 80mg/100ml Obligatory 12 months 6 months – 10 years(if fatal) but longer periods for some offences *Since January 1999, 30 for drivers of HGVs and public transport vehicles. USA Many US States have reduced their limits from 100mg/100ml to 80mg/100ml. Many also have lower limits for novice drivers, as part of Graduated Licence Schemes. The Constitution of the USA prevents law enforcement officers from using Random Breath Testing. Requiring a blood or breath sample is considered to be a search and is only reasonable if the officer has probable cause to make an arrest. The police can therefore mount checkpoints but must have an ‘articulable suspicion’ of an illegal alcohol level in the driver to stop the vehicle. Some States impose a mandatory licence suspension or revocation for a first drink drive offence, the period varies from seven days to six months. Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices are used in a majority of States. Also many State statutes permit or mandate vehicle impoundment or immobilisation for serious and/or repeated drink driving offenders. Canada Canada has two limits: 80mg/100ml is a criminal offence and 50mg/ml is an administrative offence which carries with it an immediate 12- or 24-hour administrative license suspension. Some provinces, impose further sanctions when an individual accumulates two or three such suspensions over a set period of time. Alcohol levels of 80mg or above are a criminal offence which attract longer disqualifications. 4
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