Motorists rally behind calls for tougher sentences to tackle drink-driving as AI cameras are rolled out to snare offenders

• e-mail

Motorists have rallied behind the prospect of tougher sentences to tackle the ongoing scourge of drink-driving.

Harsher punishments were selected by nearly two in five (38 per cent) licence holders polled by the RAC when asked to choose three out of eight options that would best curb drink-driving.

Reducing the legal alcohol limit to zero was the second most popular option (34 per cent) among the 2,691 drivers surveyed, followed by giving the police new powers to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside (33 per cent).

Currently, only courts can impose driving bans, meaning after a drink-driver is caught they can continue to drive until their court appearance. Motorists face a minimum disqualification period of 12 months if they are convicted of drink-driving.

Drivers being over the limit contributed to the deaths of an estimated 300 people on Britain's roads in 2022. 

With police cracking down on drink drivers in December over concerns about people getting behind the wheel during the Christmas party season, forces in the South West have launched a world first trial using artificial intelligence (AI) cameras positioned at the roadside to detect - and detain - motorists believed to be over the limit.

Motorists have rallied behind the prospect of tougher sentences to tackle the ongoing scourge of drink-driving

Devon and Cornwall Police this month launched a world-first trial to catch drink drivers in the act using the latest AI roadside cameras

RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: 'It's clear motorists want to see something done differently to tackle the scourge of drink-driving, which is still responsible for the loss of far too many lives every year.

'Shockingly, Government data shows we're back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people drinking and driving as we were in the late 1980s, and that a significant number of drink-drive offences are committed by reoffenders.

'We hope the issue of drink-driving will be addressed in the Government's soon-to-be-published road safety strategy, as clamping down on it in the right way could save hundreds of lives every year.'

Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for roads policing, said: 'We see the damaging impact of drink and drug driving all too often, and every fatality or serious injury which happens as a consequence of this is completely avoidable.'

Official figures obtained by the PA news agency in September showed 372 people had been caught drink-driving at least four times.

The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

Nowhere else in Europe has a limit above 50mg/100ml.

The Scottish Government reduced its limit to that level in 2014.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'This Government takes road safety very seriously and there are already strict penalties in place for those who are caught drink or drug driving.

'We are committed to reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads, which is why we will deliver a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade.'

AI cameras are being deployed at the roadside in the South West in December in a bid to catch drink drivers in the act

The cameras are already used to catch drivers using their phone behind the wheel or not wearing a seatbelt. But Devon and Cornwall are now deploying them to identify signs of drowsiness suggesting the motorists might be over the legal limit

Read More

Now AI cameras being used to catch drink drivers in Britain: World-first trial is underway in these two counties - here's how they work...

Devon and Cornwall police are this month using technology to tackle drink-driving in a world first trial.

As part of its Vision Zero South West road safety campaign, it is using the latest AI roadside cameras - usually deployed to catch drivers using their phones or failing to wear seatbelts - to identify if motorists appear drowsy and under the influence at the wheel.

The AI cameras - provided by Australian manufacturer Acusensus - use cloud-based algorithms to analyse image data from passing cars to look for indicators that the driver might be impaired by drink or drugs.

If the cameras believe someone is driving under the influence, the software will alert officers waiting further down the road as part of the annual crackdown on drink drivers during the festive season.

At this point, the police will stop the car and ask the motorist to undergo roadside testing to prove they adhere to the legal limit.

Geoff Collins, UK manager at Acusensus looking after the rollout of the cameras in Britain, said: 'We are delighted to be conducting the world's first trials of this technology right here in Devon and Cornwall.

'We are all safer if we can detect impairment before it causes an incident that could ruin lives.'