Skip to main content

Drink-drive casualty figures ‘unacceptable’ says IAM

The numbers of people killed and seriously injured on British roads as a result of drink driving have remained largely static for the last five years, according to the latest government figures. The figures show that between 210 and 270 people were killed in accidents in Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 240 deaths; unchanged since 2010. The number of seriously injured casualties in drink-drive accidents fell by per cent from 1,100 in 2013 to
February 5, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The numbers of people killed and seriously injured on British roads as a result of drink driving have remained largely static for the last five years, according to the latest government figures.

The figures show that between 210 and 270 people were killed in accidents in Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 240 deaths; unchanged since 2010.

The number of seriously injured casualties in drink-drive accidents fell by per cent from 1,100 in 2013 to 1,080. The government says that if this figure is confirmed in the final estimates published late this year, it will be the lowest number of seriously injured casualties on record.

The total number of casualties of all types in drink drive accidents is 8,220, down one per cent on the 2013 figure, and the total number of drink drive accidents of all severities fell by one per cent to 5,620.

Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said: “The latest drink-drive statistics show that Britain is flat lining on drink-drive deaths. Total numbers of drink-drive accidents have gone down slightly but 20 people still die every month in an alcohol related crash – this is simply unacceptable.

“The government has increased the powers of the police to make it more difficult to avoid detection but they continue to avoid the one simple measure that could deliver fewer deaths immediately. That is of course a lower drink drive limit in line with Scotland.  A recent IAM survey showed 70 per cent of drivers support this measure.

“We need to break the deadlock on drink-drive deaths and a lower limit would send the strongest possible message that taking alcohol and driving is totally socially unacceptable in 2016.”

Related Content

  • Multi-tasking at the wheel a potentially fatal myth, finds IAM
    November 20, 2015
    Expert psychologists have concluded that multi-tasking whilst driving is a myth – and the most dangerous of those driving multi-tasks is texting and talking on a mobile phone, according to a new report produced by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The research focuses on the dangers involved when drivers try and engage in more than one task, indicating this can have a ‘detrimental’ effect on the quality and accuracy of driving performance. The find
  • Growth of telematics-based pay as you drive car insurance systems
    July 17, 2012
    Car insurance made cheaper by telematics has returned to news headlines in the UK this year. Will it really take off this time and can vehicle tracking provide an effective tool for enforcing or encouraging insurance compliance? Jon Masters reports Will 2012 go down as the year that telematics-based car insurance took off? In the UK at least, a groundswell of new policies, with premiums priced on the basis of tracked and analysed driving style, suggests a turning point has been reached. Some would argue t
  • New vehicle technologies ‘could help reduce fatalities on European motorways’
    March 5, 2015
    New safety technologies could play a major role in reducing the numbers killed on European motorways, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), in a new report published today. The new analysis of developments in motorway safety shows that, despite recent progress, around 1,900 were killed on motorways in the EU in 2013. The report cites figures from several countries showing that up to 60 per cent of those killed in motorway collisions were not wearing a seatbelt. It calls on the EU to req
  • Solar studs a cost-effective alternative to street lighting?
    July 30, 2012
    Road traffic accidents have an enormous impact on society in terms of human loss, pain and suffering and a significant cost to the economy, the individual and their families. Accident rates on South Africa's roads are among the highest in the world and cost the country in the region of $163 million each year. The former head of the Department of Transport (DoT), Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, described the situation as "carnage on our roads", with over 500,000 accidents and 10,000 fatalities per annum and the number of