Drink-drive deaths reach new high

Drivers are said to consider themselves above the law

More people are dying in drink-drive accidents than at any time in the past decade, according to Department for Transport figures released on Thursday.

The number rose 6% to 560 deaths last year alone - despite an overall 1% drop in deaths on Britain's roads.

Total drink-drive casualties rose 7% to more than 20,000 - the highest level since 1990, the figures indicate.

Road safety charity Brake says the drink-drive limit encourages drivers to risk having one or two drinks, and is calling on the government to take "urgent action".

Chief executive Mary Williams said: "We need more high profile anti-drink and anti-drug advertising all year round to combat a rise in young drivers impaired behind the wheel.

"Meanwhile, the police have one hand tied behind their back because they cannot randomly breath-test high-risk drivers late at night near nightclubs."

'Tough penalties'

A Department for Transport spokeswoman told BBC News Online that lowering the drink-drive limit would "dilute" the message the government was trying to convey - "Don't drink and drive at all".

The government has already poured millions into advertising campaigns.

But a group of drivers in their twenties and early thirties are said to consider themselves above the law.

Road safety minister David Jamieson said a hardcore of reckless drivers were presenting "a danger to themselves and everyone else on the road".

But he warned: "They should remember our penalties are among the toughest in Europe.

'Unlikely to be caught'

"Drink-drivers face an automatic 12-month ban, hefty fine and possible prison sentence.

"Hard-hitting publicity campaigns have helped establish an anti-drink-drive culture.

"But these statistics show education and enforcement must continue to be a priority.

"Motorists must be responsible for their actions."

But Andrew Howard, the AA Motoring Trust's head of road safety said some drink-drivers "assume they can break the law because they are unlikely to be caught".

"The public perception of road safety enforcement at the moment is that it is done by camera and concentrates on speeding motorists and not other criminal motoring behaviour."