Call to act as drink-drive casualties climb

THE NUMBER of drink-drive casualties in Britain has reached a four-year high, new figures show.

An estimated 9,040 people were killed or injured on the country’s roads in 2016 in crashes where a driver was over the alcohol limit, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

An estimated 230 people died in drink-drive crashes during the year, up from 200 in 2015.

The overall number of drinkdrive casualties is an increase of seven per cent on the previous year and represents around one in 20 of all reported road accident casualties in 2016.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, claimed current laws give a “false impression” that it is safe to drink and drive, warning that “even very small amounts of alcohol dramatically affect safe driving”. “How many more lives must be needlessly lost before the Government acts on drink-driving?” he said.

The Scottish Government reduced the alcohol limit for drivers from 80 milligrammes (mg) per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood to 50mg in December 2014, but the legal level in the rest of the UK remains 80mg.

A DfT spokeswoman insisted that there are “tough penalties and rigorous enforcement in place”, adding: “The number of fatalities has fallen by 44 per cent over the last 10 years, but we are determined to do more.”

Last year, The Yorkshire Post and its sister titles launched the Drive For Justice campaign, which contributed to a Government review and tougher sentencing powers to deal with killer drivers, including drink-drivers.