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Government Is Considering Fitting 'Alcolocks' To Curb Drink Driving

Government Is Considering Fitting 'Alcolocks' To Curb Drink Driving

Drink driving incidents rose last year

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

The UK government is considering putting 'alcolocks' into cars following a rise in the number of drink-driving crashes.

There's been a three percent rise in the number of drink-drive crashes on British roads year on year, the Telegraph reports.

In 2018, there were 5,890 incidents involving at least one driver who was over the limit, compared to 5,700 in the previous year, the Department for Transport said.

These numbers mean around one in every 20 crashes involves a drunk-driver.

Four out of five of those involved in drink-drive crashes are male.

PA

A government source told the Times it was considering introducing 'alcolocks' for people who had previously been convicted of a drink-driving offence.

The Alcohol Countermeasure Systems measure the alcohol level in a driver's breath and would stop the car from starting if they're over the limit.

A spokesperson from the Department for Transport told the Telegraph: "Drink-driving is truly unacceptable. It's a senseless act that puts everyone at risk.

"These new statistics show that four in five drink-drivers who caused accidents were male. That's why we're focusing our work on young male drivers, with our award-winning Think! campaign highlighting that mates don't let mates drink-drive."

While RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes said: "These are disappointing figures which illustrate the need for much more to be done to curb the plague of drink-driving.

PA

"The Government has indicated it is looking at the possibility of introducing alcolock technology to prevent reoffenders from getting behind the wheel, so we'd like to know what progress is being made here.

"This, together with more police on our roads conducting breathalyser tests, could go a long way to cutting drink-drive deaths in the future."

The legal alcohol limit in the UK is 80mg per 100 mililitres of blood, except for in Scotland where it was reduced from 80mg to 50mg.

Featured Image Credit: Storyblocks

Topics: UK News, crime