Brake has expressed concern over statistics which it says show the propensity for young male drivers to risk their lives and those of others by drink driving, and has reaffirmed its call for a ‘zero-tolerance drink drive limit’.
The charity points to DfT figures which show that while crashes caused by drink drivers are falling, men in their 20s are still the most prolific offenders.
The number of crashes per annum where at least one driver was over the limit dropped by 930 between 2010 and 2013 (6,620 to 5,690), but the number of people killed in drink-drive collisions has remained at around the same level – 240 per year.
However, almost 13% of men aged between 20 and 29 years, who were breathalysed after a crash in 2014, were over the legal drink-drive limit, and a further 5% had some alcohol in their system.
While last week the DfT launched its 2015 festive drink drive campaign with the message that a second drink can double your chance of being in a fatal incident, Brake has reaffirmed its call for a ‘zero tolerance policy’.
The road safety charity says the safest thing to do is not to drink any alcohol at all if you are planning to get behind the wheel of a car or on a motorbike.
To reinforce this, Brake has produced a free interactive e-learning resource, particularly targeting young people, to ‘bust myths’ around drink and drug-driving and convey the ‘horrendous’ risks.
Gary Rae, director of communications and campaigns for Brake said: “Drink and drug-driving remains one of the biggest causes of devastating road crashes; often young and inexperienced drivers and passengers are involved and frequently they are the tragic victims.
“We must continue to send a clear message to all drivers, but especially young men, that drinking and driving is a lethal cocktail. It’s shocking to see how many crashes, many involving deaths and serious injuries, have involved men in their 20s.
“We are calling on the UK government to introduce a zero-tolerance drink drive limit.”
From it’s peak, blood alcohol takes many hours if not days (anyone know how long?) to fall back to normal levels – so how long would a small sherry bar anyone from driving if the limit really were zero?
And does anyone know whether there is some small natural level of blood alcohol that a modern device could detect?
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
0
What’s a ‘zero-tolerance drink drive limit?’
Paul Biggs, Tamworth
0