Public perception

• What 2 laws were introduced because of drink driving And what was the result of them?

  1983 High risk offenders scheme

  • for convicted drivers with alcohol problems - have to undergo a medical before getting their licence back

  1991 - causing death by driving under influence of alcohol and drugs now a criminal offene

  • prison sentence of 5yrs and in 2014 increased to 14yrs

  Only 5% of road accidents involve alcohol
• When were breathalysers introduced and how effective where they?

  1968 - worked with major advertising campaign which helped to reduce road deaths by 1,000 and serious injuries by 11,000

  • proportion of accidents where alcohol was used fell from 25%- 15%
• How have drink driving laws changed in England and Wales over the last 100 yrs?


  Public have come to see it as more serious and the laws governing it have become tighter

  1925 first law passed making drink driving an offence

  • no definition on drunk, no legal limits - so left to police and courts to decide

  Many years public attitudes to it were tolerant and not thought of as a serious offence

  • government showed little interest and did not record number of deaths due to it

  Car ownership was increasing 1951 - 15% - 1971 -55%

  • 5,000 deaths in 1950 - 8,000 deaths in 1960s
• How have campaigns helped to change perception of drink driving and were they effective?

  First TV advert campaign aired 50yrs ago and led to fall in deaths in because of it

  Have been an important factor in changing public perception

  • 1979 - 1/2 of male drivers admitted to drink driving at least 1x a week by 2014 this had decreased massively

  THINK! campaign survey

  • 91% said drink driving was unacceptable
  • 92% would feel ashamed if they were caught drink driving

  1/8 road deaths still involve alcohol
• How did public perception change of drink driving?

  Road Safety become more of a public concern and moved up the political agenda

  • 1966 all new cars had to be fitted with seat belts

  Public concern about accidents because of it led to 1967 Road Safety Act which introduced a blood alcohol limit of 80mg/100ml of blood

  • above this was a criminal offence