Legal advice: The Road Safety Bill

By thePublican.com's team of legal experts at London solicitors Joelson Wilson.​

The latest published annual road casualty statistics show that 3,508 people were killed in 2003, more than 33,000 people were seriously injured and more than 250,000 people suffered slight injuries.

Government figures also reveal that the number of drink-driving-related accidents and casualties have increased and that 2002 saw the highest recorded number (13,150) for 10 years.

The Road Safety Bill, introduced in the House of Commons at the end of November, contains specific measures relating to drink-driving, breath testing, speeding, registration plates, and to banning the use of speed enforcement detection and jamming devices.

The following proposals are likely to be of particular interest to the pub industry:

• Roadside evidential breath testing​
  
  This measure is designed to speed up the whole breathalyser process to make better use of police time. Innocent drivers
  will be released earlier and offenders will be dealt with quicker.

Changes to the high-risk offenders scheme​

This scheme aims to deal with drivers whose apparent dependency on alcohol presents a risk to road safety. High-risk offenders will have to satisfy medical advisers at the DVLA that they do not have a drink problem and are fit to drive before their licence is returned. The loophole allowing those at higher risk of reoffending to drive pending medical enquiries has now been closed.

Alcohol ignition interlocks​

The Bill proposes powers for the courts to refer offenders to an "interlock programme", where it is a condition of their driving licence that they are limited to using a car fitted with an alcohol ignition interlock. This device would prevent a driver with a breath sample above a pre-set value from starting his car.