- Drink-driving deaths hit 13-year high
- 300 killed in 2022; 1,610 critically injured
- Calls for more police, breath tests, rehab
Drink-driving deaths on British roads have reached a 13-year high, according to government estimates.
According to the most recent Department for Transport data, an estimated 300 persons were killed in collisions involving at least one driver who exceeded the legal alcohol limit in 2022.
That is up from 260 the previous year, and it is the biggest yearly total since 2009 when 380 deaths occurred.
In 2022, a further 1,610 persons were critically hurt in drink-drive accidents, with 4,890 suffering minor injuries.
Edmund King, president of the AA, stated that road deaths should be falling and that it is a pity that drink-drive fatalities are still so high.
He said, “We need more cops in cars to act as a visual deterrent and more campaigns to show the complete carnage caused by drivers’ actions.”
‘We always advise that if you are going to drive, don’t drink, and if you are going to drink, don’t drive.’
William Porter, policy and public affairs manager at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, regarded the findings as alarming.’
He stated, “We strongly support increasing the frequency of random roadside breathalyzer testing and providing additional resources to police forces to carry this out.
‘Along with this, more drink-drive rehabilitation courses will be critical to addressing this issue, as evidence shows that those who complete such courses are two and a half times less likely to re-offend.
Finally, the UK government should consider revising and lowering the drink-drive restriction in England and Wales.
Rod Dennis, RAC road safety spokesperson, stated, ‘It’s pretty evident that a hard core of people, particularly men, continue to endanger the lives of all road users by choosing to drive after ingesting too much alcohol.
This is the situation throughout the UK, including Scotland, which has had a lower blood alcohol limit than England and Wales since 2014.
Hunter Abbott, general director of portable breathalyzer company AlcoSense, believes the ‘ shocking’ spike in fatalities over the last two years could be linked to Covid.
‘Some studies show that those who drink above government standards have been drinking more heavily since the pandemic, which may explain the increase in alcohol-related crashes,’ he said.
Furthermore, these data only include accidents in which a motorist exceeded the legal limit, which is highest in England and Wales in Europe.
‘What they don’t tell you is how many more people were killed by ‘lethal but legal’ drivers – those who were under the legal limit but impaired.’
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The drink-drive limit in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Nowhere else in Europe does the limit exceed 50mg/100ml.
In 2014, the Scottish government reduced the cap to that level.
A DfT representative stated: “Drink driving is selfish and dangerous, and there are strict enforcement and harsh penalties in place for those who choose to endanger their lives.”
‘This government will offer an updated strategy framework for road safety – the first in over a decade – to decrease sad deaths and injuries on our roads, and we’re targeting drunk driving by encouraging behavior change through our long-running Think! campaign.
