Drink-drive deaths increase
The number of drink-drive deaths has jumped by 22 per cent in the last three years, striking a blow to the trade and police who have worked hard to push home the "don't drink and drive" message.
Official government figures released last week showed that 560 people were killed in drink-driving accidents last year compared with 530 in 2001 and 460 in 1998.
Ministers have voiced dismay at the increase but rejected calls for a reduction in the legal alcohol limit.
Male drivers under 30 years old were most likely to break the law, with nearly 10 per cent failing post-accident breath tests.
The equivalent number for women under 30 was three per cent.
The rise came despite an aggressive anti-drink-drive campaign and proves a persistent group of offenders remains.
David Jamieson, road safety minister, said: "The vast majority of drivers in this country know that drink-driving is wrong.
"But there is a hard core of reckless drivers who continue to drink and drive. They are a danger to themselves and everyone else on the road.
"Over the past three decades hard-hitting publicity campaigns have helped establish an anti-drink-drive culture. But as these statistics show, education and enforcement must continue to be a priority.
"We will be redoubling our efforts to send out the message that drink-driving is dangerous."
In 1999, a campaign by The Publican Newspaper prompted 7,000 licensees and their customers to sign a petition against a proposal to reduce the limit from 80mgs of alcohol in 100ml of blood to 50mgs.
Last month the Liberal Democrats announced at their Party Conference they were looking to lower the level.However, the Department of Transport, which published the statistics, said there were no plans to change the legal limit.
Jim Minton, director of campaigns for the industry's Portman Group, said: "We are as concerned as anyone else about the rise in drink-driving casualties.
"The figures themselves show that the lowest numbers of casualties happen from January to March, which would seem to indicate that winter campaigns, including 'I'll Be Des', do have an effect.
"The challenge now is to keep up the campaigning message all year round, focusing on the problem drivers that these figures identify, and continue to combine this with strict enforcement of the law."
