Roger Singer
Time to call time on the government's drink-drive strategy
Here Roger Singer gives his personal view on the operation of drink/drive rehabilitation courses:
The generally poor response to the latest Christmas and New Year Drink-Drive campaign suggests it is time for the government to rethink its strategy in trying to reduce drink-driving convictions. The 'scary' tactics are not working. Brake, the road safety organisation, says we need to find out which sections of society are offending and target messages to suit them.
As Brake says, we need to see drink-drivers as more than one single homogeneous group. There are sub-groups, each of which has a different profile and therefore needs a different approach in order to change their behaviour.
As an organiser of the DTLR's Drink-Driver Rehabilitation scheme I meet around 600 convicted drink-drivers a year. They fall, broadly, into 3 groups:-
1. The Ill-informed Majority
The first, and largest group are the most easily influenced. Indeed we know of no one who has completed our course and subsequently re-offended. The sad thing is that we believe, in most cases, if they had done the course a month before conviction, the offence would never have happened.
As a rule when they are breathalysed they feel sober, are only just over the limit – but don't think they are – or if they do, take a chance! They mostly feel OK to drive and have probably done it before, many more times than they realise. They are - in the main - sensible, law-abiding, tax-paying and employed. They are accountants, zoologists, solicitors, police officers, surgeons, and postal workers, people from 17 to 83 years of age - everybody and anybody. They drink, on average, 36 units a week. Most would agree that drink-driving is dangerous and socially un-acceptable.
These people have no accurate idea of units. They think a unit might be a glass of wine, a pint of bitter, a Scotch or a bottle of Becks. One out of four is a start! When we do the bar (a selection of alcoholic beverages from Alcopops to Vodka via beer, lager and wine) they are amazed at the variety. They have not noticed that in twenty years beer and wine have grown in strength, that measures have changed. They don't know how little it takes to go over the current drink-drive limit or how long it takes to return to zero. They soak up the knowledge, ask endless questions and have a thirst to learn.
2. The Heavy Mob
These are the drivers who are three to four times over the limit, on their second or even third conviction in ten years. These are particularly dangerous drivers. The trouble is they are not at home to see the Government's adverts, they're in the pub! Even if they did see them they would not acknowledge that it is they who are being portrayed – denial is prevalent in this group. Whilst they are the smallest group, they are, individually, the most likely to cause crashes, and may be thought to be the most difficult to change. They can drink up to 186 units per week, the highest single drink diary entry on a DTLR course. The only effective action is via Crime Stoppers, to get them off the road as soon as possible and on to a rehabilitation course. The Road Transport Laboratory's research suggests that the higher the blood alcohol level, the more successful a course will be. This is partly due to the skill of course tutors but also because the driver wants to avoid another drink-drive conviction at all costs because the likely outcome of a repeat offence is custody.
3. Morning After
The number of 'morning after' convictions is rising. I would contend this is partly due to:
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the Police being increasingly aware of the possibility that drivers may still have alcohol in their system next day,
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the propensity to breathalyse all drivers at the scene of a road traffic accident, and,
with the rising strength of beers and wines, the greater likelihood of residual alcohol next day. -
This group are the 'innocent offenders' - the drivers who had no idea they still had alcohol in their system. Early starters do not realise that a bottle of wine the night before may still be there next morning, as could three pints of Stella or 3 'home pour' Scotches
Almost half of road deaths drink or drug relatedAlcohol or other drugs are detected in almost half – 48.8 per cent – of road users fatally injured in road traffic accidents. Alcohol is detected in 31.5 per cent of deaths, and at least one other drug, medicinal or illicit, in 24.1 per cent. The figures were discovered in a three year study of road accident fatalities carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory for the Government*. The study investigated deaths of all kinds of road user, drivers, riders, passengers and pedestrians. The report concludes that while there has been a small drop in the incidence of alcohol in road fatalities over the last 10 years, - down from 35 per cent, - drink driving remains a major road safety issue and that innovative new approaches to the problem will be needed to maintain the downward trend. In contrast, the incidence of other drugs in road fatalities has increased almost threefold in the last ten years. In the study, 11.7 per cent of fatalities tested positive for a single drug and 6.3 per cent for multiple drug presence. Both alcohol and other drugs were detected in 6.8 per cent of fatalities. In regard to drug use, in males the majority was in those aged under 40, in females in those aged 40 and over. This reflected a difference in the types of drugs consumed. A higher incidence of illicit drugs was found in men, and of medicinal drugs in women. Drug use was highest (38.5 per cent) in fatalities reported as having been unemployed, this group having a particularly high incidence of cannabis and multiple drug use. Because of the length of time cannabis remains traceable in the blood stream after its consumption, its presence does not necessarily mean that the road user was under its influence at the time of death. Alcohol and Drug Use in Fatal Casualties
*The incidence of drugs and alcohol in road accident fatalities. TRL Report 495. Transport Research Laboratory for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. 2002. |
What to do?
Action needs to be taken on a number of fronts. We need to inform and educate, to treat people who drink and drive and who sometimes mix the two, as sensible, intelligent, responsible members of society, not mindless idiots. We need to get alongside and influence, not be so 'in-your-face'! The last TV campaign did nothing to tell people how to avoid drink driving, just that they could cause havoc if they did - most already know this. Previous campaigns have been just as ineffective.
There seems to be reluctance on the Government's part to talk units. The 'Dying for a Drink' leaflet (T/inf/535 issued July 2000) is typical of many. It talks about 'mg/100ml' of blood. No one knows what that is! It needs to say units. It is as if the government are afraid of saying we burn up 'one unit an hour'. We need to count them up, and then count them down.
Labelling
The unit facts we need to get across are –
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An average glass of pub 'house red' will be 2 units but it could be 3 or even 4.
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An average bottle of pub 'house red' will be 9 units
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A pint of premium lager (Stella or similar) will be 3 units
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A pint of 'ordinary' (4 per cent abv) will be 2 units
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A bottle of Bud/Becks or similar will be 1.5 units
This means that containers, price lists and pumps need to show how many units per drink. Another place where improvements could be made is in the driving test theory questions.
People also need to know:
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Being caught driving over the limit is only one way of getting convicted. People do not know that they can also be convicted of attempting to drive or being in charge while unfit through drink.
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That they will be arrested, searched, finger printed, photographed, have a DNA sample taken, spend some time in a cell and, in a few days, go to court.
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That they will definitely be banned from driving for a minimum of 12 months if convicted of drink-driving, not probably or maybe but definitely.
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That if they are a 'High Risk Offender' they will need to satisfy the authorities that they are fit to drive, via a medical, before they can regain their licence. 10 per cent never get to drive again.
So, we need -
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better labelling on containers, price lists and pumps, showing units
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adverts that tell us how many units are in a given drink
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to know it takes an hour to burn up a unit
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clearer facts on what will happen if convicted
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a clearer message that zero is now the only limit
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more drink-drive avoidance courses
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better driving test questions – more about units, both in drinks and burn up
We know how to reduce drink driving – if it doesn't happen now, we need to ask why?
Drink-Driver Avoidance
We have developed these one-day courses as a response to the pleas from participants on DTLR courses - 'Why wasn't I told this while I was driving? Why wait till I'm banned?'
The strong demand for these courses from companies with vehicle fleets suggests that forward thinking organisations are keen to ensure that all drivers are alcohol free when in charge of a company vehicle. Whilst reducing drink-drive convictions it also protects directors of the company from possible corporate manslaughter charges if the worst should happen, as well as reducing accidents and repair bills.
Roger Singer, the Head of dde and Avoidd, was a Probation Officer for twenty years before being appointed a Course Organiser for the DTLR. He also leads the 'Addictive Behaviours' module on the MSW course at Reading University
drink driver education organises DTLR approved courses throughout Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and Middlesex, providing for around 600 drink-drivers a year. Through Avoidd Ltd they are also involved in drink-drive avoidance training, drug and alcohol awareness training for safety critical staff in the passenger and infrastructure industry as well as broader alcohol awareness programmes.
Further details from Roger Singer on 0118 972 3688,
or e-mail: roger@drinkdrive.co.uk
80 Peppard Rd, Sonning Common, Reading, RG4 9RP.