THE DEADLY DRINK-DRIVERS
25 PEOPLE A DAY ARE INJURED OR KILLED IN ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY ALCOHOL
O NE PERSON is killed every 36 hours in a drinkdriving accident in Great Britain, shocking new figures have revealed.
Findings from the Department for Transport show that in 2016 - the latest year for which data is available some 240 people died in road accidents involving alcohol.
They could be drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or those in other vehicles. It is an increase from the 200 people killed in drink driving accidents the previous year. A further 1,260 people were seriously injured in drinkdrive accidents in 2016 with victims suffering a range of injuries including fractured bones, burns and internal organ damage. Some 7,550 people were slightly injured experiencing whiplash, bruising and small cuts. The data shows nearly 11 drivers a day are found to have failed breath tests after causing a road accident.
That figure includes people who refuse to provide a breath test, as well as those who test positive.
The majority of motorists involved who failed breath tests in 2016 were car drivers, who accounted for 3,424 of the 3,883 cases.
A further 245 were motorcycle riders , while 214 were drivers of other vehicles - including eight bus or coach drivers.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for the road safety charity Brake said: “Alcohol is a depressant and even small amounts affect driver reaction times, judgement and co-ordination.
“Decisive action is needed to prevent drink-drive deaths and serious injuries and that is why Brake is calling for the introduction of a zero-tolerance limit of 20mg per 100ml of blood and greater prioritisation and resources for traffic policing to confront the problem.”
Experts say the way alcohol affects a person depends on various factors such as age, weight, sex and the type of alcohol consumed.
For that reason it is impossible to say how many drinks equal the current legal limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “Our campaigns, especially those focusing on road safety, play a key role in ensuring the public stays safe on the roads. “Our hard-hitting Think! campaigns continue to have a positive impact on road users, encouraging safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured. “We continue to work closely with road safety groups to develop common sense proposals that balance tougher penalties for dangerous drivers with help for road users to stay safe.”