Drink driving penalties too lenient, RAC reveals
UK motorists back tougher sentences for drink driving, according to new research by the RAC.
Its RAC Report on Motoring 2024 found that 38% believe harsher sentences are the answer to curbing instances of drink-driving.
Meanwhile, 34% of people were in favour of reducing the blood-alcohol limit for driving to zero, and 33% supported giving the police new powers to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside.
Other well-supported options included fitting ‘alcolocks’ to the vehicles of those convicted of drink driving which would prevent them from driving if they have any alcohol in their systems, and an increase in roadside breathalyser testing.
Drink driving rates
Meanwhile, the RAC’s research also found the proportion of motorists who admit to drink-driving in the past 12 months has increased slightly, from seven per cent in 2023 to eight per cent this year, while only two per cent of drivers said they have driven after taking drugs – legal or illegal.
RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said:
“It’s clear motorists want to see something done differently to tackle the scourge of drink-driving which is still responsible for the loss of far too many lives every year. Shockingly, government data shows we’re back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people drinking and driving as we were in the late 1980s and that a significant number of drink-drive offences are committed by reoffenders.
“We hope the issue of drink-driving will be addressed in the government’s soon-to-be-published road safety strategy as clamping down on it in the right way could save hundreds of lives every year.”
