Worrying figures from the Department for Transport have revealed that incidences of drink driving rose by three percent in the last 12 months of available data.

There were 5,890 accidents involving at least one driver over the limit in 2018, up from 5,700 the year before. The data also reveals that one in 20 of all reported crashes in 2018 involved a drunk driver.

The number of deaths caused by drink-drive crashes dropped by 10 to 240 in 2018, taking the fatalities to similar levels seen in 2010.

The DfT certification for a drunk-drive crash includes any accident that involves at least one driver over the legal limit, regardless of who caused the accident.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Drink-driving is truly unacceptable. It’s a senseless act that puts everyone at risk.

“These new statistics show that four in five drink-drivers who caused accidents were male. That’s why we’re focusing our work on young male drivers, with our award-winning Think! campaign highlighting that mates don’t let mates drink-drive.”

The problem with drink driving appears to be a male problem, with 80 per cent of drink-drive accidents in 2018 involving a male. A statistic which has other repercussions according to the AA.

“Statistics show that, although women are involved in 20% of drink-drive accidents, they make up 34% of casualties in these incidents. For men, it is 80% involvement in accidents but 66% in related casualties,” said Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA.

“Many of these women will be passengers and the AA has long warned parents to be wary of who might be driving cars their daughters, and sons for that matter, are passengers in.

“Overall, drink-drive road accidents are up 3% year on year but significantly lower than in 2016. They account for one in eight road deaths.

“Ironically, one of the few good things to come out of the coronavirus epidemic should be big drop in drink-drive road accidents and casualties. However, that shouldn’t be allowed to hide unsettling trends related to this type of incident.”

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