Information on the number of road fatalities due to drink driving: FOI release

Information requested

Can you please advise on the number of road deaths as a consequence of the driver being over the drink driving limit for a period before the introduction of the current limit till the end of 2020?

Response

The drink drive limit changed from 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood or 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath to 50 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood or 22 micrograms per 100ml of breath in Scotland from 05 December 2014. The following table shows the numbers killed in accidents where at least one driver was tested positive or refused the breath test.

It should be noted that some of drivers who were found to be positive at the roadside may not have been convicted of an offence as they may have been under the limit when re-tested at the police station. It should also be noted that the figures in the table exclude drivers who were not breath tested because of the severity of their injuries, or because they left the scene of the accident. Injury road accident data for 2020 is still being collected and verified and will not be available until July 2021.

Fatalities in accidents where at least one driver was tested positive or refused the breath test

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2017	2018	2019
Killed	7	6	8	2	2	4	3	4	3	3

Table 22 in our Reported Road Casualties Scotland publication provides estimates (made by the Department for Transport) of the numbers of injury road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/reported-road-casualties-scotland-2019/statistical-tables-30/

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