Drink Driving : The Effects of Enforcement

Drink-driving is a major threat to road safety and imposes a significant burden on the criminal justice system - over one million drivers have been convicted since the breathalyser was introduced.

The aim of this research, based on the results of a national survey of 1700 drivers, was to examine the extent to which differences in drink-driving are linked with actual variations in the level of police activity and with differences in drivers' perceptions of drink-drive enforcement.

The survey showed that younger male drivers were the heaviest drinkers, and that one third of all drivers surveyed said it was difficult to avoid some drinking and driving if they were going to have any kind of social life.

More than half thought that they would drive at least once in the next year when they were over the legal blood-alcohol limit.

Police activity does appear to affect levels of drink-driving: the study showed that drivers in high enforcement areas were significantly less likely to drink and drive than those in low enforcement areas.