Calls for More Action to Reduce Drink-Driving Injuries

Road safety charity Brake has called on the UK Government to do more to tackle drink-driving after recent figures show little change in the number of people killed because of drink-driving.

The latest figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveal that the number of deaths involving a driver under the influence of alcohol was 240 in 2014. That figure has been consistently been reported since 2010 and looks set to continue if the provisional estimate for the 2015 figures proves to be accurate.

The DfT claim this consistency in drink-drive fatalities is a sign of stability in their work to reduce drink-driving since 2010, with drivers under the influence accounting for 13% of road deaths in 2014 and 15% in 2013.

However, Brake argues that the figures and the Government approach have stagnated since the removal of road casualty reduction targets in 2010. Brake urges the Government to consider the devastation that even a single death caused by drink-driving can bring and implement a zero-tolerance policy to drink-driving.

“The statistics released today reveal a worrying level of stagnation in the number of people killed because of drink-driving, with the numbers remaining unchanged since the previous year,” commented Lucy Amos, research advisor for Brake. “Drink-drive fatalities in the UK have now remained almost static since 2009 and it’s clear that decisive action is urgently needed to achieve further reductions in deaths and injuries.”

“Through our work with bereaved families, we see the countless lives devastated when someone is killed by a drink driver, and it is for this reason that Brake is calling for a zero-tolerance drink-drive limit, the reintroduction of casualty reduction targets and greater prioritisation and resources for traffic policing to tackle the problem,” she added.

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