Their campaigns have been highly successful, and the amount of accidents involving drink drivers has decreased by three-thirds since the 1980’s. In 2007 however 9,280 road accidents still took place due to drivers been over the limit. Out of those accidents 2,170 people were either killed or badly injured.
Some of us fail to stay up to date with the amount we’re legally allowed to drink whilst driving. In the UK the government say that the alcohol limit for drivers is 80mg of alcohol per 100mg of blood.
Although the government provide these numbers as guidelines, Drink Aware says that there is no fool proof way to know when we’re under the limit. They say that it depends on a number of factors:
- Your weight
- Your gender
- Your metabolism
- Your current stress levels
- Whether you’ve eaten recently
- Your age
This comes after a news report that a police lawyer killed both herself and her twelve-year-old daughter after being three times over the limit. Veronica Morley, 47, lost control of her car and crashed into some trees down a steep bank. The crash happened as Mrs Morley drove home to London with her two daughters Zoe (12) and Imogen (14). The family were returning from a half-term break in Cornwall.
The Solicitor, who worked for the Metropolitan Police, had a history of alcoholism but told her family that she had stopped drinking. The car lost control on the A30 in Devon in 2008. Imogen managed to escape from the wreckage and survived virtually unscathed. However Mrs Morley suffered from fatal head and chest injuries, whilst Zoe died from head injuries.
Mrs Morley’s mother said in a statement that she was aware her daughter had been drinking a lot of wine, but had stopped drinking six months ago. She said: “She would never put the lives of her two children at risk or in danger.”
During the inquest into the accident Mrs Morley’s GP said that she had become dependent on alcohol to help her sleep. He also said that she was not suffering depression but was also using sedatives to help her sleep. It is believed that due to the amount of sedatives found in her body, Mrs Morley may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Dr Earland ruled that Mrs Morley’s death was accidental, but she had unlawfully killed her daughter. He said: “I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the car accident was caused by the consumption of unlawful and dangerous levels of alcohol, which inadvertently caused death. I am satisfied that anyone reasonable and sober would realise that Zoe would have been at risk of unintentional manslaughter and so my verdict is unlawful killing.”