Drink-drive deaths on Britain’s roads hit 12-year-high

In total, an estimated 6,740 people were killed or injured in drink-drive collisions, an increase of four per cent from 2020, according to figures published by the DfT on Thursday (July 27).

The DfT said the 260 deaths on Britain’s roads in 2021 where a motorist was over the drink-drive limit was an “alarming increase of 18 per cent over the previous year and the highest since 2009”.

“The central estimate of the number of killed or seriously injured drink-drive casualties in 2021 is 1,880, an increase of 23 per cent on 2020,” the DfT said.

Hunter Abbott, managing director of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense, said: “It’s very concerning indeed to see the number of fatalities caused by a drunk driver increase by nearly a fifth.

“Although we spent much of 2020 in lockdown, resulting in less traffic on the roads, restrictions were also in place for the first half of 2021 so again there were fewer vehicle movements than usual.

“We haven’t seen this many drink-drive deaths for 12 years.”

He added: “What these figures don’t tell you, of course, is how many more casualties were caused by ‘lethal but legal’ drivers – those who were above the point of intoxication where effects on cognitive function occur, but below the official drink-drive limit”.

Analysis by AlcoSense of the new data shows that London and the South East accounted for 28 per cent of all drink-drive casualties in Great Britain, with Scotland (where the drink-drive limit is lower) recording the fewest (three per cent).

July was the worst month for drink-related injuries on the roads.

Just 37 per cent of motorists involved in a collision were breathalysed, compared with 54 per cent ten years previously.

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

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