Shropshire Star

COMMENT: Why do people still drink and drive?

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What do people still drink and drive?
What do people still drink and drive?

A group of young people playing football with a friend's car keys in the pub. A courting couple snatching a man's car keys as he prepares to leave the pub.

The Government is targeting young revellers with this year's anti drink-drive campaign, with the message that people should intervene to stop their friends from breaking the law.

The drink-drive law, which set a legal limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, was introduced in January 1966, and roadside breath-tests came along the following year.

But while the introduction of the drink-drive limit has dramatically reduced the number of accidents caused by driving under the influence, there is still a hard-core of drivers who do not seem to be getting the message.

Edmund King, president of the AA, says huge progress has been made since the breath-testing was introduced in the late 1960s.

He says: "Over the years we have had really hard-hitting campaigns, and attitudes have changed so it's not socially acceptable as it was in the 1960s or 70s. But we have still got a hard core of drivers who continue to ignore the warnings.

Mr King says today's drink drivers usually fall into one of two categories.

On the one hand, he says there are the chancers, who take a risk based on the likelihood of getting caught.

"These are the people who will take a chance, they think if they avoid the high street, and take a quiet rural road, they are unlikely to get stopped," says Mr King.

"They don't take into account they are more likely to crash, and that then they will be breath-tested and banned."

These people, he says, can be challenged by the use of hard-hitting advertising and tough enforcement action. But he says there is another category of motorists who are much harder to reach.

"If you look at the figures, and the debate about whether the drink-drive limit should be 50mg or 80mg, it is interesting to see that reducing the limit in Scotland has not reduced the number of fatalities.

"People who die in drink-driving incidents are nearly always about twice the limit. It's not those who are just over, it's those who are twice the limit and still persist with driving.

"In these cases, it's not the driving, it's the drinking, a lot of these people have drink problems. They can be banned for a year, but if they have still got a drink problem, it is not going to resolve the issue."

He says the answer to this lies in tackling the underlying medical problems rather than simply issuing a ban.

"You can issue them with a five-year ban, but if they have got that sort of problem they will probably still drink and drive."

He says that in some areas of the country there have been schemes which have included treating people for their drink problems, and carrying out regular blood tests.

Mr King says another problem is many motorists attempt to calculate how much they can legally drink before driving, but this is very difficult to do.

"These days there are so many different measures of drinks, some glasses of wine are almost half a bottle.

"There are different strengths of wine, so somebody might think they are all right with a glass-and-a-half of wine, but find they are over the limit."

In France it is a legal requirement to carrying a breath-testing device in the car, but Mr King believes relying on such devices is fraught with danger.

"The problem is that it can take a while for the alcohol to work its way into the system," he says.

"You might take a breath test at 11pm, and find you are well under the limit, and think it's ok to have another drink.

"But the alcohol can still be working its way into your system, and you might then find you are over the limit.

"We always say that if you know you are going to drive, don't drink, and if you are going to drink, don't drive."

Mr King says the one instance where home breathalysers can be useful is when testing whether it is safe to drive the morning after a party.

"You get people who will be out celebrating New Year's Eve until 3am, and then they are out on the road at 8am the next day," he says.

"They feel they are perfectly all right, they don't feel drunk, but they then get stopped and find they are over the limit."

Assistant Chief Constable Martin Evans of West Mercia Police says there are still people out there who feel they can gamble with drinking and driving, and that they know how much the limit is.

"Cracking down on those who take drugs or drink and then decide to drive is a year round commitment for us," he says.

"However, we are very aware the festive season can present opportunities where people are tempted to drive under the influence.

"To combat this, extra patrols will be conducted in the run up to and over Christmas and New Year in a bid to tackle those who commit the unacceptable act of drinking or drug driving.

"The simple fact is, there is only one way of being sure that you are safe to drive and that is not to drink at all."

This year's campaign draws attention to the fact there is no foolproof way of calculating how much you can drink and remain under the limit.

Police say there is no way to know how long alcohol stays in the system, and for people to avoid drinking if they will be driving the following day.