ROAD SAFETY – IT’S ALL ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE…AND PRACTICAL

The alcohol industry is constantly being called upon to defend the legal products that we sell. While the industry does not shy away from its responsibility to encourage the community to use our products in a reasonable manner, it is important that further regulations are practical, responsible, measurable and enforceable. This is never more evident than in the debate on legal drink driving limits as some protagonists suggest a zero blood alcohol limits for Australian motorists.
  There is no doubt that the general adult community accept and enjoy the products our industry offers, and it is increasingly important to ensure this fact is balanced with any debate associated with further restrictions on alcohol advertising and consumption. It is not uncommon for industry critics to engage in industry bad mouthing, by linking many unrelated incidents to our products either through stretching or selective use of data to support their point of view.
  In the area of road safety, Australia has made major inroads into reducing the level of fatal road accidents. In the last ten years the number of fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles has reduced from 2.1 to 1.4. In another key measure road fatalities have reduced from 12.2 per 100,000 population to 9.0 per 100,000 population over the same period.
  No one denies that the excessive use of alcohol plays a significant role in contributing to the number of fatalities on our roads, however, it raises the question, if additional regulations lowering the legal BAC limit would have any impact on drivers who choose to drive at blood alcohol limits exceeding 0.05?
  Current research shows the chances of having an accident at 0.05 BAC is equivalent to travelling at 65 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. As a comparison, the research also shows that driver fatigue for people driving after being awake for 19 hours is equivalent to travelling with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05.
  The call for regulations enforcing a zero blood alcohol limit for road users are impractical and unenforceable. Picture the scenario of a responsible adult that attends a social gathering by taxi. While at the gathering, this person consumes a number of drinks and catches a taxi home at 1.00am. Next morning at 7.00am the same person drives for work and has a remanence and traceable amount of alcohol in their blood, but under 0.05 BAC. This scenario is quite common and even the best intentioned, law abiding citizen would be breaking the law.
  It is regularly demonstrated that bad or impractical laws are ignored or flaunted. In the case of alcohol, there is a clear argument that restrictive laws could lead to a possible increase in the incidence of drink driving as the community objects to the unnecessarily onerous restrictions placed on it.

Future Regulations
It is easy for minority groups and anti-alcohol advocates to lobby for increased regulations that have little public support and a limited effect on reducing the road toll. In fact, many restrictions that can be proposed could only serve to disadvantage the majority while having limited or no effect on reducing the road toll.
  We already have had significant success with reducing the road toll. However there is still room for further improvement. While one death is too many, a sensible approach to addressing people who drive over the legal BAC level should firstly involve assessing the initiatives that would have the highest degree of success.
  As an industry we need to continue to lobby the law makers and inform them of the importance of maintaining the responsible 0.05 blood alcohol limit while working with the relevant industries and the community to further reduce the unacceptable road toll that effects so many lives.