RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. A maximum blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.5 g/L (and breath equivalent) should be introduced throughout Europe with immediate effect; a lower limit of 0.2 g/L should be introduced for novice drivers and drivers of public service and heavy goods vehicles, with immediate effect; countries with existing lower levels should not increase them.
2. By the year 2010, the maximum blood alcohol concentration limit should be reduced to 0.2g/L for all drivers.
3. Unrestricted powers to breath test, using breathalysers of equivalent and agreed standard, should be implemented throughout Europe; 50% of all European drivers should have been stopped and breath tested at some time by the year 2010.
4. Common penalties for dinking and driving, with clarity and swiftness of punishment, need to be introduced throughout Europe; penalties should be graded depending at least on the BAC level, and should include license suspensions, fines, prison sentences, ignition locks and vehicle impoundment; all drivers on European roads with a BAC level greater than 0.5 g/L should have an unconditional license suspension; based on the existing range of license suspensions in European countries, Eurocare suggests a minimum suspension period of 6 months.
5. Driver education, rehabilitation and treatment schemes, linked to penalties, including the return of suspended licenses, need to be strengthened and implemented throughout Europe for drinking and driving offenders, including those with evidence of dependence on alcohol, based on agreed evidence based guidelines and protocols.
6. Because of limited evidence for their effectiveness in reducing drinking and driving, public education efforts to persuade drinkers not to drive after drinking, programmes to encourage servers to prevent intoxicated individuals from driving, and organized efforts to make provisions for alternative transportation should not be the main cornerstones of drinking and driving policy.
7. Continued efforts should be made to implement evidence based alcohol policies, such as fiscal policy, minimal legal age drinking laws, and regulations of trading hours of bars and pubs, all of which are effective in reducing alcohol related road traffic fatalities.
8. Although the beverage alcohol industry has a responsibility in reducing drinking and driving, drink driving laws and regulations and public education campaigns should be set and implemented throughout Europe independent of the beverage alcohol industry.
9. Lowered blood alcohol concentration limits, the introduction of unrestricted powers to breath test and the introduction of common penalties, such as automatic license suspension when over a limit of 0.5 g/l should be supported by major publicity campaigns to inform the drivers of Europe of the new measures.
10. A monitoring system, with common and standardized measures across European countries, should be put in place to produce annual reports on drinking and driving in Europe, the implementation of these recommendations and on the progress to achieving a target of halving deaths and disability adjusted life years due to drinking and driving between 2000 and 2010.
