Drinking Drivers Cite War, Economy

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday July 9, 1991

By BERNARD LAGAN

Was it the onset of recession, fear of the Gulf War or a mere statistical blip?

Last November, for the first time since the introduction of random breath testing in NSW nearly 10 years ago, the percentage of fatal accidents involving alcohol rocketed above pre-RBT levels.

In November, nearly 45 per cent of fatal accidents in NSW involved alcohol- a level not seen in the State since late 1981.

Since 1987, the percentage of fatal accidents involving alcohol in NSW has been well under 30 per cent and only once since the introduction of RBT has it exceeded 35 per cent - in late 1984.

So what happened in November?

Police involved in the RBT program were confused by the result yesterday, especially as they worked harder than ever last year, testing 1.6 million drivers compared with 1.4 million in 1989.

Some police believed the onset of the economic recession had made more people turn to drink. One officer said a meeting of police called to consider the November increase has been told drunken drivers had blamed their fear of the Gulf War.

The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, which issued the statistics, had a different explanation: drunks are the slowest learners.

Last year's NSW road toll, at 797 dead, was the lowest since 1957 and a 17 per cent decrease on the numbers killed in 1989.

In nearly all categories of fatal accidents, the types of accidents reduced last year, with the exception of those that involved alcohol.

"It doesn't appear that more people were getting on the plonk or anything like that," said an RTA spokesman.

"It just appears that whilst the rest of the fatal accidents declined, it just so happened that drink-driving didn't."

More than 4,000 drivers tested for alcohol consumption last year showed high range readings of 0.15 or above. In 1889, only 2,700 drivers were found in the high range.

Overall last year, nearly 25 per cent of fatal accidents involved alcohol, the highest annual percentage since 1986.