In Europe, any new car sold from 2022 must be alcolock-compatible, in a huge bid to reduce accidents, injuries and deaths caused by drink driving. Yet the UK Government is dithering about whether to introduce them. Now, however, there is serious pressure on the Government, thanks to a hard-hitting report from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.
Before we get into how this works, let’s just note that over the last decade or so there have been around 240 deaths each year involving a driver over the legal alcohol limit. And it isn’t getting any better, despite the £millions spent in trying to educate people as to the danger to themselves, and to their friends and family.
A recent survey showed that the vast majority of drivers would support such drink-drive immobilising technology. And preliminary DoT figures last month showed a 17% rise in drink driving-related deaths and the highest casualty figures for over ten years.
Now consider the impact drive-driving accidents have across families, workplaces and communities. We have the deaths, the injuries, the broken families, the lost income and jobs, the prison sentences…the list goes on.
Here at Need To Know Motors we see this as a no-brainer. So we are calling for the UK Government to align itself with its European partners (yes, we get the irony) and introduce an all-vehicle installation of alcolocks as of 2022. Why wouldn’t you?