Following poor annual figures for drink driving in England and Wales, Scotland also looks worse for wear.

The number of deaths on Scottish roads caused by drink drivers has trebled.

Drink-drive deaths on Britain’s roads have reached a 13-year high, with an estimated 300 people  killed.

Behind the wheel

According to the Department for Transport, 30 people were killed by drivers over the legal limit in 2022.

This compares to ten deaths in 2021.

What is more, the total number of casualties was also up by nearly 50%, with 310 people injured compared with 210 the previous year.

Across the whole of the UK, the number of fatalities increased to the highest level since 2009.

No city escape

Analysis by personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense shows that Glasgow City remains Scotland’s drink-drive hotspot.

Here, 963 ‘driving under the influence’ (DUI) offences were recorded.

This was followed by North Lanarkshire (757) and Highland (696) in second and third place.

Currently, Scotland has a lower limit for drink driving:  50 milligrammes (mg) of alcohol in 100ml of blood versus 80mg in England.

Whilst the change in the limit introduced in 2014 by the Scottish Parliament has been heralded as reducing drink driving, the latest figures represent a big blow.

England and Wales’s limit has been in place since drink-driving limits were introduced in 1967.

However, the British Medical Association is calling for this limit to be reduced to conform with Scotland and most of Europe.

The hangover

“Some studies show that people who drink more than the recommended limit have been drinking even more heavily since the pandemic, which may explain the increase in collisions where alcohol is a factor,” comments Hunter Abbott, MD of AlcoSense Laboratories.

“The number of drink drive incidents had been declining steadily over the past two decades.  In 2003, there were 1,130 casualties and 50 deaths.

“But that now seems to have bottomed out and collisions are rising again”.

On the rise

According to the latest Scottish Health Survey, alcohol consumption amongst those who drink above government guidelines increased to an average of 32.9 units per week in 2022.

This compares to 30.9 units before COVID-19 struck.

Looking at the rest of Scotland, fourth in the league table of DUI offences was Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (681), followed by Fife (469).

Bottom of the table were the Islands of Shetland (26) and Orkney (28).

In total, across Scotland, there were 8,041 DUI offences.

“If you’ve been drinking the night before, we recommend a personal breathalyser to check you’re clear in the morning”, adds Mr Abbott.

“At the Scottish limit, you’re still 5 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than when completely sober, according to research”.