Drink-Driving Statistics (Hansard, 17 January 1994)

The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)
My Lords, as the figures are fairly complex, I have arranged for them to be placed in the Library and a copy sent to my noble friend. However, a simple assessment shows that the number of breath tests administered increased by 11.1 per cent. over the previous year. The number of tests which proved positive fell slightly to 4.6 per cent.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for his reply, which indicates some 323 progress. Does he ascribe the improvements to the prospect of more severe sentences or to the special campaigns?
Was the welcome improvement reported in Scotland over the New Year a result of the traditional celebrations being curtailed—that would be a pity—or because they were better planned to enable the seasonal toasts to be enjoyed in the appropriate beverage but by people on foot or travelling as passengers?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, my noble friend asks me a number of questions to which I feel ill equipped to reply. He asked whether the improvement is due to the severe sentences or to the special campaigns. The answer is probably that it is due to both. Certainly the sentences are more severe and certainly the campaigns have made a great impact on people's lives. It is noticeable that those, if I may so describe them, in the most awkward age category are not the young people but those of rather more mature age who have become used in the past to driving when they have had drinks.
The effect in Scotland has been remarkable. Between 1988–89 and 1993–94 the number of positive breath tests has dropped from 5.76 per cent. to 1.89 per cent.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, that is very good.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, it is very good indeed. Whether that means that friends North of the Border drink less at Christmas and Hogmanay, I leave to my noble friend to decide.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, does the Minister welcome the fact that deaths and serious injuries from road accidents have fallen sharply over the past year, apparently due to the good driving of the British people? I believe that that is to be rejoiced at. I hope that the noble Earl agrees.
However, in relation to drink and driving, is there not much confusion caused by the present limit of 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood? Is this not the time to consider whether there should be an outright ban on drinking alcohol and driving?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, the noble Lord makes an important point. There has been a great decrease in the number of people who have become victims of accidents in which alcohol is present. In 1992, 610 people were killed, whereas 10 years earlier in 1982 the figure was 1,550. That is an enormous drop. In 1992, there were 3,200 serious injuries and 8,010 in 1982, 10 years earlier.
The noble Lord asked whether it would be a good idea to have a zero limit on alcohol. That would produce problems. All the evidence shows that above the current levels—that is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in the blood and 35 microgrammes in the breath—the ability is impaired. As regards reducing the limit to zero, people have alcohol in their blood for all kinds of reasons. For instance, if the noble Lord were to eat a bad pork pie he would find that he had alcohol in his blood. That might give an erroneous reading; or a correct reading but an erroneous interpretation of the noble Lord's capacity.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, is the Minister aware that in some countries nil alcohol is the level for new drivers in their first two years of driving? In view of his last answer, will he explain to me how that measure works in other countries if the bad pork pie has such a disastrous effect on people in this country?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, perhaps people in other countries do not eat pork pies. All sorts of things occur in other countries which do not happen in this country. I assure my noble friend that the evidence is that it is much better to aim our efforts towards enforcing the existing law rather than increasing its rigour.

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, the Minister rightly draws attention to the welcome decline in the number of accidents involving people who have been drinking. However, how does he draw his conclusions from the proportion of tests which prove positive? Is it not equally likely that there would be a decline in the number of positive results as a result of police forces testing more indiscriminately and less accurately than from a decline in the number of people driving when they have had too much to drink?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, the interpretation of statistics is always a fine art. All one can do is to ask: what were the statistics in a previous year on a similar occasion and what are they now? Overall, particularly throughout the past five years, there has been a gradual decline, albeit small. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of tests undertaken. The noble Lord may be interested to know that, in 1988, 65,000 tests were taken throughout England, Scotland and Wales over Christmas and the New Year. This past year, there were 119,000. In the first year 7 per cent. gave positive results, and in the last year 4.6 per cent. gave positive results. My conclusion is that that is an improvement. If the noble Lord wishes to say that it is not an improvement, that is up to him, but I think that it is.

The Viscount of Falkland
My Lords, does the noble Earl agree with me that, although there has been an overall improvement in attitude—cultural attitude, if you will—there still seems to be a hard core of drivers who imagine that they are better drivers when they have had something to drink? One hopes that they are a minority, but, if the noble Earl agrees with me, what plans does his department have to target that group?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, the noble Viscount asks me to insert my own mind into the minds of a few people who happen to take a certain view. I could not possibly do that. I do not know whether certain people believe that they drive better if they have taken alcohol. Some may, but I would not know. What I do know is that the effect of the campaigns which have been undertaken is a marked improvement and what has transpired is that it is those who are older who tend to drive after they have taken drink, as opposed to those who are younger. That is an overall view which is obviously subject to adjustment. However, it is those who are older who have traditionally drunk and driven who are most likely to do so now, and we must aim at them.