Road safety experts have called for more action to tackle drink driving on the back of new Department for Transport (DfT) accident figures.

One in 20 of all reported crashes in 2020 involved a drunk driver

Published today, the provisional stats for 2020 reveal that the number of fatalities in road accidents where the driver was over the drink drive limit decreased slightly to 220 – down from 230 the previous year.

However, the overall number of reported road accidents also fell, so drink-drive deaths were a higher percentage of the total than in 2019.

Overall, the DfT figures estimate a total of 6,480 people were killed or injured in drink drive accidents in 2020, compared with 7,800 the year before.

That means that one in 20 of all reported crashes involved a drunk driver.

Breathalyser firm AlcoSense said the apparent fall in drink drive casualties needed to be viewed in the context of the Covid lockdown.

Hunter Abbott, managing director, explained: “According to separate DfT data, traffic was down by a quarter overall in 2020 – with weekdays slumping to 35% of pre-Covid levels in April.

“Possibly as a result, police carried out the lowest number of breath tests on record – nearly 50,000 fewer than in 2019.

“Yet research shows a significant rise in alcohol consumption at home during lockdown, increasing the likelihood of ‘morning-after’ drink driving.”

Abbott also called for police to test more drivers involved in an accident.

In 2020 this had declined to 39% compared with 54% in 2010. And of those actually tested following a collision 3,278 were over the limit – at 5.6%, that’s the highest failure rate for 10 years.

While the Scottish Government reduced the alcohol limit for drivers in 2014, from 80mg per 100 millilitres of blood to 50mg, the legal limit in the rest of the UK remains 80mg, the highest level in the developed world.

Scientific research shows that at the limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, despite not breaking the law, you are 13 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than when sober.

But in a poll conducted by AlcoSense, over a third of motorists (36%) think their ability to drive is only impaired if they are actually over the legal drink drive limit.

Road safety charity Brake has also warned that thousands of people are needlessly killed and injured at the hands of drink-drivers every year.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns, said: “A recent Brake analysis shows that, between 2012 and 2019, there were a staggering 46,860 drink-driving-related crashes, causing 1,860 deaths and 13,340 serious injuries.

“We need to change the culture around drink-driving, starting with more awareness that any amount can be deadly. While measures such as effective ongoing police enforcement and public information campaigns, including THINK!, are helping to reduce deaths and injuries, the Government should follow Scotland’s lead and reduce the legal limit. Such a move would make it clear to drivers that no amount of alcohol is safe when behind the wheel.”