§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists were killed and injured in each of the last five years due to drivers causing accidents while in excess of the blood alcohol limit; and what research his Department has done on the impact random breathalysing would have on these figures.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe numbers of(a) pedestrians and (b) pedal cyclists who were reported by the police as killed or injured as a result of collision with a motor vehicle whose driver was established to have a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit or failed to provide a specimen are:
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Pedestrians killed 116 110 83 70 61 all severities 1,117 1,186 1,092 949 919 Pedal cyclists killed 20 19 17 14 6 all severities 771 217 160 144 136 These figures confirm the significant success of our campaign against drinking and driving, to which increased enforcement activity by the police has made a major contribution. The impact of any extension of police powers would depend on the extent to which they were used and on the level of associated publicity. The extensive powers currently available to the police were set out in the recent statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General (Official Report, 5 December, column 131). The Government fully support the full use by the police of these powers.