Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - WHO Western Pacific Region

Addressing the harmful use of alcohol : A guide to developing effective alcohol legislation
selected, highly visible checkpoints – often on main roads. The checkpoints are not announced
publicly and locations vary from day to day and from week to week. All motorists passing
a checkpoint are stopped for a preliminary roadside breath test, regardless of personal or
vehicle characteristics. Drivers returning a negative breath test result are not detained and
usually drive away after a delay of less than one minute. Those who fail may be prosecuted
on that result or asked to undertake an evidential blood test.
To be effective, the law must require random breath-testing of any and all drivers on request
by an authorized officer. Refusal to take a breath or blood test should be an offence, with
sanctions equal to those which would have been incurred if the person failed the text and had
a previous drink-driving conviction.
Administrative suspension of licence
An automatic administrative suspension of a driver’s licence for drink-driving avoids slow
and expensive court processes to bring the penalty closer to the teachable moment of being
apprehended for Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) levels above the legal limit. As a deterrent, it
may be particularly effective with young males.
In Ontario, Canada, the government introduced administrative licence suspensions for drinkdriving
in 1996. This required that anyone charged with having a BAC over 0.08 g/100 ml
or refusing a breath test would have their licence suspended for 90 days from the time the
charge was laid. This change was followed by an estimated 17.3% reduction in fatally injured
drivers who were over the legal alcohol limit.
In 2003, France strengthened its penalties for drink-driving, including suspension of licence,
and increased BAC testing. For example, a BAC of 0.05-0.08 gm per 100 ml results in a loss of
six points (on a points system leading to loss of licence), suspension of licence for three years,
and a fine of Euro €135-750 [U.S. $179-$993]. A BAC above 0.08 gm per 100 ml adds two
years in prison and raises the fine to Euro €4,500 [U.S. $5,959]. A repeat conviction increases
imprisonment to three years and doubles the fine. In 2003, alcohol-related fatalities dropped
from 38% to 20% of all traffic fatalities compared to 2002, and alcohol-related traffic injuries
fell by 60%. In 2004, 60% of drivers reported not drinking and driving compared to 45% in
1999 (Riviere 2004).
A few countries currently based drink-drive penalties on whether a resulting accident has
caused injury or death. However, the research evidence is clear that above 0.05gm/100ml
levels of blood alcohol, driving is impaired and risk of accident increases markedly (Global
Road Safety Partnership 2007; Land Transport Safety Authority 2003). This risk to the public is
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