December 11, 2019 Press releases
The European Union should introduce a zero-tolerance drink-driving limit in 2020 as part of a package of measures to help prevent up to 5,000 alcohol-linked road deaths every year, according to the European Transport Safety Council, authors of a new report.
The EU has recently set a target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road by half by 2030 (1). A quarter of the 25,000 EU road deaths each year are likely to be linked to alcohol, according to European Commission estimates. Therefore more progress on tackling drink driving is essential to reaching the overall target.
Ellen Townsend, Policy Director of ETSC said:
“Almost 70 years since the first scientific evidence was published on the link between drink-driving and road deaths – it is impossible to accept that thousands of families are still being ripped apart every year in the EU because of it. In 2020, we want to see the EU and Member States, coming up with a vision to end drink-driving once and for all with a combination of zero-tolerance limits, a big step-up in enforcement and wider use of technology such as mandatory use of alcohol interlocks in buses, lorries and vans.”
Around 2,654 people were officially recorded killed in alcohol-related collisions in 23 EU countries in 2018, according to the new ETSC report. But the true figures are likely to be significantly higher due to underreporting and problems with data collection.
Currently only seven out of 28 EU countries have a standard Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of 0.2 g/l or below. 0.1 and 0.2 are effectively equivalent to zero tolerance, while still allowing for consumption of certain medicines, or drinks marketed as alcohol free. 19 have a limit of 0.5, while Lithuania has 0.4. The UK currently has the highest standard limit of 0.8, though Scotland has set a lower limit of 0.5. Many countries also set lower limits for professional and/or novice drivers. (2)
13 EU countries are cutting drink-driving deaths at a faster rate than overall declines in road deaths, according to the new research. In contrast, the UK, Cyprus, Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Sweden and Slovakia all appear to be tackling drink-driving at a slower rate than the overall progress.
Download the new report at: https://etsc.eu/drink-driving-2019