Surge in Drink Drive Deaths Prompts Calls for Action

The number of people who died in incidents involving at least one driver over the limit rose to between 230 and 270 in 2017, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The central figure of 250 is the highest total since 2009, and up by 20 on 2016, although the DfT said the year-on-year rise was “not statistically significant.”

More encouragingly, the total number of casualties or fatalities involving drink-drivers was 8,600 in 2017, down from 9,040 in 2016.

The drink-drive limit across England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

For people driving north of the border, it’s worth bearing in mind that in 2014 the Scottish Government reduced its limit to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Given that the law allows motorists to drive with a certain amount of alcohol in their system, how can we responsibly judge what is a legal and safe level?

According to most experts, the stark answer seems to be – we can’t.  For instance, some people use the rule of thumb that more than two pints of regular strength beer or lager, or two small glasses of wine, will put a person over the limit in England, Wales and NI.

By that principle, it follows that drinking well below that amount should mean you are legally safe to drive. Doesn’t it? No, it doesn’t.

Science says things are not that simple. The effect of alcohol varies from person to person, and even from day to day. Factors such as tiredness, stress, and the type of alcohol all play a part, as does your gender, age and the amount of food you have eaten. On average it takes about an hour for one unit of alcohol to leave your system. There are around two units in a pint of most low strength beer, and three in a large glass of average strength wine.

So, it takes around two hours to metabolise a pint and three to break down a large glass of wine…but don’t bank on it. Again, the amount of food eaten, weight, age, stress, tiredness, etc. etc., can make a mess of your sums.

All this evidence leads the NHS to conclude there is no hard and fast way to work out how many units a person can drink. It advises that the safest option is to not drink any alcohol at all if you plan to drive. Campaigners have spoken out in the wake of the latest statistics.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, said the increase in drink-drive fatalities is ‘incredibly concerning’.

He said the current drink-driving limit gave a false impression that it is safe to drink and drive, adding that it was a dangerous message “that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes said it was vital there were enough police to enforce the laws and called for “increasing roadside breathalyser testing so that law breakers know they will be caught."