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The number of drink drivers or drivers
refusing to take the breath test has fallen over the festive
season compared to last year despite more police checks - 22nd
January 2008
The number of drink drivers or drivers
refusing to take a breath test over the festive period has
fallen. The total fell 20 percent to 7,774 from 9,658 the
previous year, despite 155 thousand drivers being tested up 6.4
percent on last year.
This shows that tougher enforcement by the
police appears to work in reducing drink driving, and so
reducing road
accidents and needless
pedestrian and vehicle crash injuries and fatalities, and
also reducing the number of innocent drivers needing to make
unnecessary
car accident claims against their insurance.
Head of Road Safety for
the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “Although this still
means around 250 people a day were caught drinking and driving
during December, the police are to be congratulated on the major
progress made on the previous year.
“Adding “We want the current drink-drive
limit reduced from 80mg to 50mg, which would save around 65
lives and 230 serious injuries on Britain’s roads each year.
Between 50mg and 80mg you are two to
two-and-a-half times more likely to be
involved in an accident and six times more likely to be in a
fatal crash than with no alcohol in your system."
“We cannot be complacent because 540 people
were killed in road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels
in 2006, while in 1999 we had managed to reduce that number to
460.”
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