Drink-driving: The facts

There are approximately 30 million drivers in the UK.

One in seven deaths on the road involves drivers who are over the legal limit.

The number of people killed on roads in drink-driving incidents has steadily dropped in recent years. During the 1980s the number was over 1,500 but in 1998 it was down to 460.

The number of drink-driving convictions has also fallen. In 1989, there were 114,000 convictions, 10 years there were about 90,000.

But recent Government figures show the number of accidents involving drinking and driving has risen for the first time since 1990.

Drink-drive-related deaths rose by more than 10% in 2000, with total casualties increasing by 7%.

The legal limit for driving is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The quantity of alcohol in a half-pint of standard strength beer is about the same as in a pub measure of spirits, a port or sherry or a small glass of wine.

But any amount of alcohol can impair a driver's ability to judge speed and distance, slow their reaction times and seriously affect their judgment of risk.

A woman drinking the same amount of alcohol as a man of the same age and weight will generally end up with a higher blood-alcohol level because the female body takes longer to eliminate alcohol from the blood

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