Drink-Driving (Hansard, 1 February 1988)

§ 8. Mr. Robert B. Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on reductions in drinking and driving since 1978.

§ Mr. Peter Bottomley
Responses to surveys indicate a substantial reduction in the number of people who risk drinking and driving, possibly as much as 50 per cent. between 1978 and 1986. The figures show a downward trend in drink-drive injury accidents, from 20,352 in 1978 to 18,254 in 1986.
The General Accident Gallup survey of 18 December 1987 indicated that the proportion of male drivers prepared to risk drink driving over the limit halved between 1986 and 1987.

§ Mr. Jones
Although those figures are welcome, they show that many people are still drinking and driving, so there is much still to do.
May I make two suggestions? First, many of my constituents complain to me that non-alcoholic beer is still not available in many pubs. Will my hon. Friend suggest to the breweries, when he meets them concerning these matters, that they should be more co-operative?
Secondly, does my hon. Friend think that it is wrong that the 10-year rule should apply to people who have more than one conviction for drunken driving? It is a serious offence, so should they not automatically have a major disqualification on the second conviction, even if it is more than 10 years after the first one?

§ Mr. Bottomley
The brewers are doing a great deal to promote drivers drinking non-alcoholic drinks or to encourage people to make other transport arrangements after drinking alcohol. I encourage more people to join The Brewers Society's "Wheelwatch" campaign and to copy a good brewery, Charles Wells of Bedford, which has made non-alcoholic beer available on draught.
My hon. Friend's second point would tempt me to get back into my quotations from "The Mikado", which tend to get me into trouble.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
Has the Minister tasted the non-alcoholic wine available in the House? I can assure him that it is absolutely disgusting and is no disincentive to take alcohol. Will he say whether there has been a correlation in London between the fall in drinking arid driving offences and free transport on London Regional Transport? Would it not be a good thing to have free transport throughout the country and throughout the year, so that we could do away with the problem of drinking and driving?

§ Mr. Bottomley
It is worth noting that almost 500 people a year die on the roads in London. Obviously, the more journeys that can be made on public transport, which is dramatically safer than using the roads, the better. 691 That is why the great increase in passenger journeys on London Regional Transport, since it was taken away from the hon. Gentleman, is to be welcomed.
Non-alcoholic drinks can improve, but there are the traditional soft drinks, as well as the new non-alcoholic and very low-alcohol drinks.

§ Mr. David Martin
Bearing in mind that a reduction in drinking and driving offences is particularly sought at Christmas and over the new year, and that public transport increases the opportunities for not driving, will my hon. Friend, if he speaks to British Rail about commercial matters, raise the matter of the advisability of services being restored to Boxing day this year and in future years?

§ Mr. Bottomley
I am sure that British Rail will bear in mind my hon. Friend's comments when making commercial decisions. It is important to make all forms of transport as reasonably safe as possible. Although I am occasionally willing to wear sackcloth and ashes for appearing to be hysterical, I am sure that most hon. Members support the drop in drinking and driving casualties from 1,500 eight years ago to under 1,000 now. We hope that they will drop to virtually zero.