By Professor John Robertson
In the Guardian, typically Anglocentric, today:
Deaths due to drinking and driving on UK roads have increased to 300 annually, a 13-year high, according to newly published government data.
There were an estimated 300 deaths where at least one driver was over the legal blood-alcohol limit in 2022, the latest year for which official figures are available, the Department for Transport said. This is the highest annual figure since 2009, a toll motoring organisations described as “abhorrent” and concerning.
The number is 16% higher than in 2021 and means drink-drive fatalities accounted for about 18% of all road deaths, bucking the general long-term trend for safer roads and more responsible driving.
These are, of course, the data for England and Wales.
I can’t see the equivalent data for 2022 in Scotland but, from Police Professional in October 2023:
Breathalyser firm AlcoSense said the lower drink-drive limit in Scotland has “undoubtedly helped to change attitudes” and says the rest of UK should follow suit.
A new report from Transport Scotland shows a total of 210 people were injured in accidents where a driver was over the legal limit. This compares with 1,270 in 2002.
There were ten deaths, half the number of the year before and down from 50 two decades ago.
The Scottish figures are in sharp contrast to the rest of Great Britain where drink-drive deaths have hit a 12-year high of 260.
There were fewer casualties in Scotland than any other region in Britain.
In Wales, despite its much smaller population, there were 320 injuries – 50 per cent more than Scotland.
BBC Scotland did not cover the above last year but did report as the Scottish Government announcement came out in 2014:
However, the UK government said it had no plans to reduce the drink drive limit in England and Wales as it said this would have no impact on “high risk offenders”.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
How do they know the incidents were due to drink driving. Drink driving may have been associated, but not the actual cause. Is that not true?
(this is not to excuse drinking and driving in any way…I just think it helps to be clear and accurate when reporting)
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Presumably the drivers in question were breathalysed at the scene and found to be over the legal limit. Given that the effects of too much alcohol include:
Slower reactions and impaired judgement;
Poorer co-ordination;
Drowsiness and blurred vision;
Impaired concentration;
Overconfidence.
I’d say that the likelihood that alcohol caused the accidents was extremely high.
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