HC Deb 01 December 1986 vol 106 cc614-6
3. Mr. William Powell

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to increase public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Peter Bottomley)

The latest step in our continuing campaign against drinking and driving is our Christmas advertising. From today, 2,000 poster sites will tell the public that at least 1,100 people a year are killed by drivers who have been drinking. The posters brand drinking drivers as a menace to society. The clear message is, "Do not drink and drive."

Mr. Powell

I thank my hon. Friend for his answer and for the new campaign to try to deter people from drinking and driving this Christmas. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is necessary to have a sustained campaign throughout the year? The problem of drinking and driving does not appear only at Christmas, but exists throughout the year and, most of all, when people have forgotten the warnings given at Christmas.

Mr. Bottomley

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Drinking and driving is a menace to everybody in society. We need a campaign, not just to get at the person who knows that he is a drinking driver—there are not that many of those—but to get all those around us to remind us every month and week of the year that drinking and driving do not mix.

Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

As it is probably agreed that drinking drivers are potential murderers, will the hon. Gentleman accept that there will be widespread public support for a more robust attitude to this problem? Will he ensure that his writ extends to Scotland, because one of my constituents was killed by one of these drivers? All that the offender got was an admonition and five years' suspension of licence.

Mr. Bottomley

The hon. Member will be pleased to know that, at the launch of the anti-drink driving campaign, we had an assistant chief constable from Scotland with us. I am glad that we are working in partnership with the police in getting the message across. The key point, although sentences and court procedures are important, is to stop people from offending. That is what cuts out the accidents, injuries and fatalities.

Mr. Cormack

Would it not be appropriate for those who kill when they are drunk and driving to be automatically charged with manslaughter?

Mr. Bottomley

My hon. Friend will know that that is not a point for this Department. Florence Nightingale talked about the effects of alcohol as an anaeshetic. On her deathbed in 1910, she said that it was a killer. People need to appreciate that point and not just look on the courts or the law as an excuse for doing what too many peeople do, and that is knowlingly to drink and then to drive.

Mr. Boyes

I welcome the clarity of the Minister's message for this Christmas and his promise to keep up a sustained campaign. Does he agree that the problem will be made worse by the growth in the number of hand-held telephones in cars? Some drunken loonies will be driving at the same time as making a phone call. I recognise that the hon. Gentleman has inserted a strong paragraph in next year's edition of the "Highway Code", but does he agree that it is time to outlaw hand-held telephones now that a suitable and adequate alternative is available?

Mr. Bottomley

I think that if I went into too much detail I should be slightly out of order, but I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for drawing attention to the clear advice which will be in the "Highway Code"—not only do not drink and drive, but do not use a hand-held telephone when driving.

Mr. Wheeler

Does my hon. Friend agree that the best way to remove the offence of drinking and driving from the criminal justice system and to stop it causing conflict between the police and the public would be to adopt the new technology, on which some motor manufacturers are working, whereby it is impossible to start a car engine when the breath has been analysed and revealed evidence of drink or drugs? Will that not solve the problem? Will my hon. Friend encourage that technology?

Mr. Bottomley

I shall certainly consider that technology carefully. Even if such a device were introduced within, say four years, for the next 24 years most cars would be unconverted. We need to convert the more than 20 million licence holders who at present are killing 120 people a month to the idea that they should not be doing that. They are the ones who can stop it.

Mr. Stott

I am sure the Minister is aware that Labour Members share his concern and are fully behind any Government measure that will deter people from drinking and driving. Will he ask his hon. Friend the Minister responsible for public transport—the hon. Member for Hampshire, North-West (Mr. Mitchell)—how he can believe in the deregulation of our bus system in view of the fact that the evidence so far leads us to believe that there will be no public transport on Christmas day or Boxing day and, as my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Snape) tells me, no trains in England and Wales? This cannot be good for the hon. Gentleman's campaign, which we support. Will the Minister have a word with his hon. Friend to get the buses on the road on Christmas day. In addition——

Mr. Speaker

Order. Briefly.

Mr. Stott

I shall do my best, Sir. In a written answer to me, the Minister revealed that throughout this year his Department spent £1.5 million on a drink and drive campaign, but last year the Department spent £1.4 million at Christmas alone. That represents a serious drop in the amount that his Department is spending on this campaign. Does the hon. Gentleman think that it is a good idea to reduce expenditure at such a time?

Mr. Bottomley

Deregulation of buses means more minibuses, so more people are likely to be able to get a ride to where they live. The Brewers Society—[Interruption.] If the Opposition would care to listen to the answer, they might find that they can help to reduce drinking and driving in their constituencies. They might want to draw more attention to the Brewers Society campaign, "Don't get a ban. Get a bus, taxi, mini-cab, train, tube or a lift." There has been greatly increased spending on reducing road casualties. I am sure that, like me, the hon. Gentleman would welcome the £2 million that the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation has spent and will hope that this is a growing trend.

I think that about 30 million people saw television coverage of the launch of the anti-drinking and driving campaign on Wednesday. I regret that some people used that massive exposure to the danger of drinking and driving to argue either about the amount of money being spent or about the law. This month is the time to get the drink-driving message home to people—they can stop it themselvess.

Several Hon. Members

rose——

Mr. Speaker

Order. We are making very slow progress. We must speed up a little.