Safe and Sober: ETSCs efforts against drink driving

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Safe and Sober ETSCs efforts against drink
driving

• Oslo
• 23rd of April 2008

Antonio Avenoso
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Introduction to ETSC

A science-based approach to road safety policy

• Bringing together 39 organisations from across
  Europe to promote science based transport safety
  measures at EU level.
• More then 200 experts contributing to ETSCs
  Reviews, Policy Papers, Newsletters, Positions,
  Press Releases, etc.
• 10 Secretariat staff members do their utmost to
  insert the knowledge of ETSC members and experts
  into EU transport safety policy-making
• The European Commission, member organisations,
  member states and corporate sponsors are funding
  our work.
• 2 Drink Driving programmes Safe Sober and
  Drink Driving policy network.

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ETSC priority-based safety work

ETSC Priority-based safety work
Ranking EU countries performances - Road Safety
PIN
Monitoring EU transport safety policy
Preventing Drink Driving and Speeding
Protecting Vulnerable Road Users - VOICE
Campaigning for the treatment of high risk
infrastructure R2R
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The EU actors the Institutions
The Commission is the initiator of new legislation
The Parliament represents European people
The Council represents European governments
Lengthy co-decision procedure
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The EU actors NGOs
Monitoring the EU policy making process Advising
decision makers on the best policy options
Tools Science-based Reports, Policy papers,
Press releases, Press conferences, Meetings
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Road Safety in Europe

• 42,829 deaths in the EU in 2006
• Around 3.5 million injuries in the EU
• EU Socio-economic cost 200 billion
• Non-quantifiable pain and suffering

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The EU target and Strategy
Insufficient progress towards the target
White Paper (2001) Cutting road deaths by 50
by 2010
3rd Road Safety Action Programme (2003) Sharing
responsibility
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Reduction in road deaths 2001-2006 ()
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Reduction in road deaths 2001-2006
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A widenning gap
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The EU needs further efforts
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Drink Driving in the EU

• At least 10,000 road deaths (25)
• Causes 30-40 of driver deaths
• Drink driving in traffic flowEU 1-2 of drivers
  (illegal BAC)

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Drink driving deaths

• Each country has its own way of identifying
  deaths from drink driving accidents, so these
  percentages cannot be compared.

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Changes in drink driving deaths 1
Yearly change in drink driving deaths relative to
other road deaths (in , 1996-98 to 2005)
Yearly percentage change in drivers involved in
fatal drink driving crashes relative to drivers
involved in other fatal crashes Yearly
percentage change in driver deaths from drink
driving crashes relative to driver deaths from
other crashes
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Changes in drink driving deaths 2
Average yearly change in road deaths resulting
from crashes related to drink driving (in ,
1996-98 to 2005 )
Average yearly percentage change in drivers
involved in fatal drink driving crashes
Average yearly percentage change in driver deaths
from drink driving crashes

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Safe Sober Campaign

• Safe Sober...
• is a 3 year programme (January 2007 December
  2009)
• Safe Sober aims at
• improving local, regional and national policies
  for the prevention of Drink Driving in commercial
  transport
• identifying and promoting best practice
• addressing measures relating to education,
  enforcement and engineering.

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Drink Driving Policy Network

• The Drink Driving Policy Network...
• is a 2 year programme (January 2007 December
  2008)
• The Drink Driving Policy Network targets...
• high-BAC recidivist drunk drivers
• young and novice drivers
• those who are statistically more likely to be
  involved in alcohol-related road accidents.

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ETSC Recommendations

• Introduce a common BAC limit in the EU of 0.5
  mg/ml (0.2 mg/ml for commercial drivers, young
  and novice drivers).
• Transpose the EC recommendation on enforcement
  into a legally binding directive.
• Promote alcolocks for commercial transport and
  recidivist offenders and set up best practice
  guidelines.

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BAC limits across the EU

• Common BAC limits (mg/ml)?
• 0,0 (Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia)
• 0,2 (Estonia, Poland, Sweden)
• 0,4 (Lithuania)
• 0,5 (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus,
  Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
  Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal,
  Slovenia, Spain)
• 0,8 (Ireland, Malta, United Kingdom)
• But A limit needs to be enforced!

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BAC Recommendation

• January 2001 two different BAC limits
• 0.5 BAC for all drivers

• 0.2 BAC for
• inexperienced drivers and more particularly
  holders of provisional driving licences,
• motorcyclists
• drivers of large vehicles, i.e. lorries weighing
  more than 3.5 tonnes
• drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods.

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Drink Driving enforcement 1

• EC Recommendation on Traffic Law Enforcement in
  2003.
• Highest level of checks (2004) Finland, Estonia,
  Sweden, the Netherlands.
• Lowest levels (2004)Italy, Belgium
• Sartre-3-Survey (2004) Only 26 of drivers in
  the EU were checked (2001-2004).

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Drink Driving enforcement 2

• Austria
• Introduction of roadside alcohol tests 2005.
• -20 Drink Driving deaths (2005-2006).
• Switzerland
• Introduction of 0.5 BAC limit and random breath
  testing in 2005.
• -25 fatal Drink Driving accidents (2005-2006).

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Alcohol interlocks

• Life-saving potential
• Between 40 and 95 reduction in the rate of
  drink driving repeat offences
• User acceptability
• More acceptable if not too invasive 34 of EU
  drivers are in favour (2003).
• Manufacturers efforts
• In Sweden Volvo and Toyota can fit their vehicles
  with interlocks if the client wishes to do so
• Introduction scenario
• Company cars
• Recidivist drivers

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Alcohol and Health Forum

• EU strategy in reducing alcohol-related harm (EC
  2006)
• The priorities
• protect young people and children unborn child
• reduce injuries and deaths from alcohol-related
  road accidents
• prevent harm among adults and reduce the negative
  impact on the workplace
• raise awareness of the impact on health of
  harmful alcohol consumption and on appropriate
  consumption patterns develop a common evidence
  base at EU level.

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To know more

• Newsletter to monitor safety policy developments
  in the EU

www.etsc.be