j245189-35.htm
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 2011 in September 2012. Scotland estimates are presented in Table 22. Because of the uncertainty involved figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/road-accidents-and-safety-annual-report-2011/
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 2011 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 non-injury (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, 2000 to 2010
Number of accidents/casualties
|
Accidents |
Casualties |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fatal |
Serious |
Slight |
Total |
Killed |
Serious |
Slight |
Total |
|
|
2004-08 Average |
30 |
130 |
520 |
690 |
30 |
170 |
790 |
990 |
|
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 |
|
2010 |
20 |
80 |
440 |
530 |
20 |
120 |
610 |
750 |
|
2006-10 average |
30 |
120 |
510 |
650 |
30 |
150 |
730 |
910 |
Note: individual columns may not sum to totals due to rounding