Vijay Pattni presents 40 must-know facts about drink driving and the device designed to combat drink-driving.

Back in the 1930’s, police officers had to force suspected drink-drivers to stand on one leg or walk in a straight line in order to determine their sobriety.

But that all changed when, in 1967, Transport Minister Barbara Castle introduced the breathalyser – to fierce opposition.

Suddenly the test for drunk drivers was resolutely simple – anyone over the 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood mark was automatically guilty and would receive a 12-month driving ban.

And in the first year of the breathalyser being introduced, there were 1,152 fewer recorded deaths, 11,177 fewer serious injuries and 28,130 fewer slight injuries.

Check out these 40 facts about the breathalyser and drink-driving:

1. Breathalyser invented by Professor Robert F Borkenstein in 1953.

2. The Breathalyser Act was given Royal Assent on May 10 1967.

3. It was first introduced into the UK in October 1967.

4. (Then) Transport Minister Barbara Castle brought in the breathalyser.

5. Prior to 1967 Road Traffic Act, drink-drive test was called the FIT test.

6. Early breathalysers were screening devices – meaning they could not be used as hard evidence in court, but as a guide.

7. All breathalysers must be type approved by the Home Office only.

8. Police-grade breathalysers measure an exact volume of air each time they are used.

9. Breathalysers need to be regularly calibrated.

10. Some brands of breathalyser have memory functions allowing them to record the results of individual breath tests.

11. A 1964 study found that 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood was the level at which the chances of being involved in a crash rises sharply for most drivers.

12. In 1967, after a heavy advertising campaign, the percentage of accidents where drinking had been a factor was reduced from 25 per cent to 15 per cent.

13. However, the publicity was not sustained and the percentage rose to 35 per cent by 1975.

14. In 1983, evidential breath testing was introduced by a schedule in the Transport Act 1981 – meaning breath would be the principal means of determining the amount of alcohol in a suspect’s body.

15. Sucking mints or belching cannot disguise alcohol in the system.

16. Government took a different approach in 1984 by trying to limit drinking as opposed to stopping it, with the ‘Stay Low’ campaign.

17. Government launched the current ‘human consequences’ themed campaign in 1987 with the ‘Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives’ slogan.

18. The effect of alcohol on the body differs on a number of factors including gender, amount of food consumed, and body size.

19. ‘Real Lives’ commercial was revamped and shown over a two-week period in 1987.

20. Drink-drive casualties fell from 9,420 in 1980 to 4,850 in 1990.

21. Christmas 1990 saw the launch of an advert featuring the little girl ‘Kathy’ – and was deemed too emotionally disturbing to be shown before 9pm.

22. Hyperventilating can decrease a breath test reading.

23. A new offence of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs was introduced by the Road Traffic Act in 1991.

24. The Department for Transport launched its biggest ever summer campaign in 1993 to curb drink-driving, featuring Mungo Jerry’s ‘In The Summertime’.

25. Mouthwashes containing alcohol could give a false positive reading.

26. A 1995 TV commercial showed a young man permanently maimed as a result of a drink-drive accident.

27. Research has indicated rehabilitation courses significantly reduce the chances of a person committing further drink-drive offences.

28. As a result, the rehabilitation experiment was expanded to cover 175 courts in 1997.

29. In 2000, the rehabilitation scheme was introduced on a permanent basis.

30. Numbers of slight injuries in drink-drive accidents were rising between 1993 and 2002, but have fallen by 7 per cent since 2005.

31. As of 2002, drivers convicted of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs are required to pass an extended test before being allowed to drive again.

32. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs was increased from 10 to 14 years in 2004.

33. In 2006, it was estimated that 14,350 casualties occurred when someone was driving while over the legal limit.

34. The provisional estimate of the number of deaths last year was 540 (17 per cent of all road deaths).

35. In 2006, the highest number of failed breath tests occurred between 2am and 3am on Saturdays.

36. The second worst hour was between midnight and 1am on Sundays.

37. The most sober motoring hour was between 6am and 7am on Monday mornings.

38. The age group most breath tested after being involved in an accident last year were 40-49 year-olds.

39. In recent years, campaigners have called for limit to be reduced to 50mg of alcohol in blood, or even 20mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

40. And this year, a £3 million anti drink-drive campaign was launched.

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External links

Think! – drink driving
The Department for Transport