Alcohol

ACRS Policy Position

Drink driving has always been a major contributor to road trauma in Australia.  There has been great improvement over the last three decades, but further reductions in alcohol associated road trauma are possible.  To this end ACRS supports

• present national permissible blood alcohol limits of 0.05 BAC for most drivers and 0 for novice drivers (0.02 in WA), drivers of heavy vehicles, dangerous goods vehicles, emergency vehicles, public service vehicles, and driving instructors and supervisors of learner drivers
• continued enforcement, education and publicity on the risks and dangers of drinking and driving
• efforts to reinforce the social desirability of separating alcohol and road use
• maintaining a high level of high profile random breath testing, to at least one test for each licensed driver each year
• regular review of penalties for drink driving so that a range of measures including monetary, driver's licence, denial of vehicle use and custodial penalties remain a real deterrent against drinking and driving
• continuing development of measures to deal with 'problem' alcohol users and recidivist drink drivers, including social measures such as rehabilitation
• greater availability of safe and reasonably convenient public transport alternatives.

In the longer term, ACRS sees merit in investigating whether there is a case for further reduction in permissible blood alcohol concentration to Zero BAC for all motor vehicle operators.

ACRS presses for the development and universal fitting of passive breath test devices or driver impairment sensors that detect the presence of alcohol or impaired performance, and provide warnings or prevent the vehicle being driven.

Objective

Objectives of this position are to:

• continue to reduce the influence of alcohol on road trauma
• reinforce the social desirability of separating alcohol and road use.

Discussion

Drink driving has been one of the largest single contributors to road trauma.  In 1980 when 3272 persons were killed in road crashes, 44% of drivers and motorcycle riders killed had more than the legal concentration of alcohol.  In 1995 when 2017 persons were killed that proportion was 30%.  The most recent national figure, for 1997, is 28%.

The improvement has come about through a combination of reducing the permissible blood alcohol limit to 0.05 g/100ml of blood (0.05%), introducing and maintaining a high level of random breath testing, and heavy penalties reinforced with publicity and information measures (eg the distribution of millions of 'standard drink' cards, media advertising, etc) aimed at making drink driving socially unacceptable.

However, any single problem that still accounts for more than one quarter of driver road deaths should be capable of improvement, and a major target for countermeasures.  Further improvement can be gained by increasing the level of random breath testing to at least one test per licensed driver per year (a component of the National Road Safety Strategy 2000-2010 announced by Australian Transport Council in November 2000), strategically targeted to achieve the greatest effect.

Alcohol ignition interlocks have been proposed, usually as a way to allow convicted drink drivers to continue to drive where court rulings allow.  Technology is now being developed to fit 'passive' devices that can sense the presence of alcohol and prevent the vehicle from being started until a test is passed.  Such devices would not inconvenience a sober driver.  Any such device should be reliable, accurate and difficult to bypass, and fitted to all vehicles in manufacture. 

The College also notes that devices have been developed for the road transport industry to assess impairment from fatigue, and that there is potential for systems to automatically assess variation from a driver's own baseline driving performance characteristics, and issue progressively more intrusive warnings and eventually shut down vehicle systems if the driver does not respond.  ACRS should press for the further development and eventual equipment of all vehicles with such devices. 

There remain some problem areas such as recidivist drink drivers.  Recidivist drink driving is the effect of a problem, not the problem itself.  As well as enforcement measures to deter offending and alcohol interlocks, recidivist drink drivers need other treatment and support measures such as rehabilitation programs.  As well, there may be a case for applying penalties administratively instead of going through the courts, for repeat offenders.  Measures such as impoundment of the vehicles of repeat offenders should be investigated, trialled and implemented if found to be effective.

In the longer term, society should consider moving to more stringent permissible blood alcohol limits (ie 0 BAC) for all motor vehicle drivers.

Reference

Australian Transport Council, The National Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010, ATSB Canberra 2001