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

  • Polarisation is glaringly obvious, says Sony
    December 3, 2018
    Glare from the sun is a factor in a large number of road accidents – many of them fatal. But there is a solution at hand: using polarisation can mitigate the effect of glare and improve ITS camera enforcement, explains Stephane Clauss The effect of glare on driver safety has been well documented. A 2013 UK study by the country’s largest driver organisation, the AA, calculated sun glare was a contributing cause in almost 3,000 road accidents in 2012 alone. This represented one in 33 accidents on Britain’s
  • New report indicates reduction in London’s pollution
    July 20, 2015
    A new report, produced by experts at King's College London, for the first time quantifies the health and economic effects of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2), where all previous studies have focused on particulate matter (PM2.5). Combined together the effects of both pollutants reveal a higher health impact than previously estimated after taking into account this further pollutant. The study also found that nearly half the health impacts are caused by air pollution outside London such as diesel
  • New drug-driving laws a ‘step forward for road safety’
    March 2, 2015
    Leading road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has described the introduction of new drug-driving laws as ‘a big step forward for road safety.’ The legislation comes into force in from 2 March 2015 in England and Wales and is designed to catch people who risk other people’s lives by getting behind the wheel after taking drugs, and not those taking legitimate medicines that don’t impair their ability to drive. The new law sets limits at very low levels for eight drugs commonly associat
  • Avoiding the call of the wild
    June 29, 2018
    Hitting an animal on a rural road can be fatal for all parties involved – but detecting and avoiding them requires clever technology. Andrew Williams carefully scans the horizon for details. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an ever-present threat in rural areas around the world, and there is certainly nothing funny about suddenly finding an angry moose in your headlights on a sharp bend. A variety of detection and avoidance systems are currently in use or under development to help prevent your vehicle being