The sound of jingle bells heralds the annual pc hysteria over drink
driving.

There are approximately 3,500 road deaths a year in the UK. Of those
around 500 involve people over the limit. In the nature of things some
of those 500 deaths will have been caused by factors other than drink,
eg, a blown tyre or failing brakes.

The real question which needs to be asked is why so much more police
time and public money is spent on controlling behaviour which at worst
is responsible for only 1 in 7 road fatalities than is spent on
controlling the behaviour which causes the other 6 in 7 deaths ? The
hysteria over drink driving is I suggest driven to a degree by
political
correctness.

The other point which needs addressing is people with alcohol in their
blood the day after drinking. As anyone knows there is a world of
difference between being drunk and being hung over. The former
undoubtedly affects judgement and reactions: the latter is no more
disabling than, for example, driving with a cold or when tired. .
Prosecuting someone for being over the limit when the alcohol is not
significantly disabling a driver is creating a crime for no purpose.

A survey by Autotrader found that 1 in 3 drivers had drunk and driven
at some time and a fifth said that they intended to drink drive this
Christmas (Evening Standard 14 12 2005) . Clearly, there is a great
deal of drink driving, most of which will take place in demanding
driving conditions, ie, after sundown. It follows from that that most
drink drivers drive without serious mishap even in difficult driving
conditions. .

None of this is to suggest that drink driving should not be punished
where it has been clearly reckless and either contributed to an
accident
or put other people in danger of an accident. What should happen is to
judge each case on its merits, which is what used to happen before the
breathalyser.