Latest Stats: Sharp increase in drink drive deaths

There’s been a sharp increase in the number of deaths on Britain’s roads caused by drunk drivers.

Final figures for 2022 released by the Department for Transport today estimate that 300 people were killed in drink drive accidents – an increase of 15% on the previous year and the highest since 2009.

The overall number of casualties was also up slightly – to 6,800 compared with 6,740 in 2021.

“Drink drive casualties have been steadily declining since these figures were first published in 1979,” comments Hunter Abbott, MD of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense Laboratories. “But there’s been a shocking increase in fatalities over the past two years. In 2021, there were 260 deaths – which in turn was 40 more than in 2020. Some studies show that people who drink above government guidelines have been drinking more heavily since the pandemic, which may explain the increase in collisions where alcohol is a factor."

"Further, these figures only record accidents where a driver was actually over the legal limit, which in England and Wales is the highest in Europe. What they don’t tell you is how many more casualties were caused by ‘lethal but legal’ drivers – those who were under the official limit but still impaired”.

Analysis by AlcoSense of the new data shows that London and the South East accounted for 30% of all drink drive casualties in Great Britain, with the North-East recording the fewest (3%). June and July were the worst months for drink-related injuries on the roads, with 630 casualties in each month. Just 37% of motorists involved in a collision were breathalysed, compared with 53% ten years previously.

“More drivers need to be tested by Police after an accident,” adds Mr Abbott, who is also a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS).

“Every year 17% of motorists fail the test or refuse to provide a sample”.

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25 July 2024

Source: Department for Transport: Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain involving illegal alcohol levels 2022 (published 25 July 2024) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-involving-illegal-alcohol-levels-2022/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-involving-illegal-alcohol-levels-2022