Is drink driving legislation effective? Release of 16th Road Safety PIN Flash

Overall, the report shows a rather positive trend on road deaths due to the enforcement of drink driving legislation. Figures show an average of 5.8% decrease per year in alcohol related deaths, compared to a 4.2% decrease in other road deaths. These numbers should, however, be taken with caution as still great underreporting occurs.

Following the official numbers, 11.5% of all road deaths are alcohol-related, while estimations made by the EC reach a number of 25%. This would mean that around 7.500 deaths could have been prevented if drivers had not drunk. Moreover, countries use different methods of identifying alcohol-related deaths, which makes comparable data difficult to obtain.

The report encourages EU Member States to intensify consistent and visible enforcement of legislation on drink driving, especially by lowering the BAC (Blood alcohol content) limit and stimulating more frequent alcohol checks, which are still rather low in many EU countries. Moreover, more effective interventions such as alcolocks, alcohol labeling and awareness raising campaigns should be taken up. The EU in this regard should focus on standardized definitions of drink driving and alcohol-related deaths, harmonized standards and an EU-wide monitoring system.

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