Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2010

Table 22 (a) Estimated number of reported drink drive accidents

Years: 1999 to 2009

Table 22 (a) Estimated number of reported drink drive accidents

(b) Estimated number of reported drink drive casualties

Years: 1999 to 2009

(b) Estimated number of reported drink drive casualties

Drink-drive accidents and casualties

Drink-drive estimates: background

1. The Department for Transport (DfT), annually estimates the number of reported drink drive accidents: i.e. those reported injury road accidents involving drivers with illegal alcohol levels (above the current drink-drive limit of 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood). DfT published GB estimates in Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2010 in September 2011. Scotland estimates are presented in Table 22. Because of the uncertainty involved figures are rounded to the nearest ten.

http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/road-accidents-and-safety-annual-report-2010/rrcgb2010-03.pdf

2. The DfT's publication outlines the estimation methods in detail. It draws on Stats 19 reported road accident data (where motor vehicle drivers or riders failed or refused to provide a sample of breath) and Procurators Fiscal (and Coroners in England and Wales) data on blood alcohol levels of drivers who died within 12 hours of being injured in a road accident. The estimates include allowances for the numbers of cases where drivers or riders are not breath tested. Drink drive casualties are defined here as any casualties resulting from a drink drive accident.

3. Estimates for 2010 are not yet available because of the timing of the provision of the data regarding blood alcohol levels of fatalities from Procurators Fiscal (and Coroners in England and Wales) to DfT.

4. There are no estimates for Scotland of the number of alcohol-related injury road accidents which involve legal alcohol levels (i.e. alcohol levels up to and including the current drink-drive limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood), nor are there any estimates for Scotland of the numbers of noninjury (damage only) road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels.

5. The figures here differ from the number of drivers with positive (or refused) breath tests. While the Police aim to breath test all drivers involved in an accident this isn't always possible (e.g. hit and run drivers or due to severity of casualty). Recently, just under two thirds of motorists involved in injury road accidents in Scotland have been breath tested.

Table 22 Estimated number of reported drink drive accidents and  casualties, 1999 to 2009
    Number of accidents/casualties
  Accidents Casualties
  Fatal Serious Slight Total Killed Serious Slight Total
1994-98 average 50 210 520 770 50 290 830 1,170
1999 50 190 520 750 60 250 800 1,110
2000 40 190 550 780 40 240 860 1,150
2001 60 180 560 800 70 250 870 1,190
2002 40 160 620 820 50 240 970 1,270
2003 40 180 530 750 50 230 850 1,130
2004 30 140 540 710 40 170 850 1,060
2005 30 130 500 660 30 170 790 990
2006 30 130 550 720 30 160 780 980
2007 20 120 530 670 30 150 760 940
2008 30 140 490 660 40 170 760 960
2009 20 120 520 660 30 160 730 920
2005-2009 average 30 130 520 670 30 160 760 960

Note: individual columns may not sum to totals due to rounding