Enforced legislation on drink driving policy paper

Enforced Legislation on Drink Driving Malta Medical Students’ Association Policy Paper

Date of adoption: Date of expiry: University of Malta

Enforced Legislation on Drink Driving Malta Medical Students’ Association Policy Paper

Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 Definitions ............................................................................................................... 2 Biological Basis of Ethanol’s Effects on Driving & Determination of Dangerous BAC ........................................................................................................................ 2 Statistics ................................................................................................................. 3 Cultural Issues, Awareness and Attitudes to Drink Driving ..................................... 4 Current Legislation.................................................................................................. 4 Main Text ................................................................................................................... 5 Summary .................................................................................................................. 10 References ............................................................................................................... 11

Introduction Definitions Drink-driving is defined in Maltese Law as “[attempting] to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in [one’s] breath, blood or urine exceed the prescribed limit” (Traffic Regulation Ordinance, 2001). In Malta, the maximum legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for driving is 0.8 mg/ml, a limit which is shared with the USA, and the UK (excluding Scotland). Internationally, aside from countries with total prohibition, BAC limits range from 0.00 mg/ml – zero tolerance – to having no BAC limit whatsoever (“Drink Driving.org,” 2015).

Biological Basis of Ethanol’s Effects on Driving & Determination of Dangerous BAC Commonly referred to simply as alcohol, ethanol is the organic compound found in alcoholic beverages consumed recreationally by millions of people worldwide.

Ethanol is a psychoactive, neurotoxic drug known to have profound effects on the human body. It is widely accepted that alcohol impinges upon driving skills, and research collectively shows that a BAC of above 0.08 mg/ml is strongly associated with fatal motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). Although this is by no means an extensive list, negative effects of a BAC of 0.08 mg/ml or above include: poorer peripheral vision, worsened recovery from glare, decreased performance in complex visual tracking, decreased ability to multitask (Brust, 2010) (Hingson & Winter, 2003).

Driving is a complicated data-processing task and alcohol is detrimental to the quality of driving, putting drivers, passengers and third parties at risk of injury and death.

Statistics There is a distinct lack of quantitative data on the incidence, prevalence and mortality rates associated with drink driving in Malta. When the authors of this paper attempted to search major academic databases and internet search engines for keywords “drink driving Malta”, relevant results were extremely sparse. However there is of course a vast body of international data which links drink driving to serious morbidity and mortality (Garcia & Keegan, n.d.). The only local research produced recently on this topic was a qualitative survey conducted on 366 Maltese students in 2013, which fortunately included some quantitative data (see Figure 1) (Cacciottolo, 2013). An article appearing in The Times of Malta in 2011 quotes figures about the quantity of cars the police stopped on Christmas/New Year’s Eve of the previous 41% of students reported having year: engaged in drink driving at least once in their life “Last year, the police stopped 400 cars on Christmas Eve and a further Almost 37% of students engaged in drink driving within the 1,006 on New Year’s Eve. Of these, previous 12 months 35 were subjected to breathalyser tests, with 25 emerging positive and being prosecuted.”

Despite attempts made to contact the author of the aforementioned article, the source of this data ultimately remains unverified and therefore unreliable (Borg, 2011).

Whilst it cannot be claimed with certainty that there are no statistics relating to drink driving in Malta, it is not unreasonable to claim that the only data available lacks reliability, is unrepresentative of the entire population and does not illustrate trends/patterns. It is therefore difficult to

Drink driving was found to be more prevalent among males, with almost 44% reporting drink driving on at least one occasion within the previous 12 months Drink drivers were more likely to be between the ages of 21-25 years 77% of students were unable to indicate the current legal BAC limit in Malta.

Figure 1 (Cacciottolo, 2013)

assess the scale of the problem that drink driving presents.

Cultural Issues, Awareness and Attitudes to Drink Driving Several high profile cases involving drink driving related fatalities have been reported in local media recently, with one local MP describing drink driving as “rampant” (Diacono, 2015). Although the sole study on drink driving in Malta does not hold much statistical power, it does provide valuable insight into young people’s attitudes to driving under the influence. The majority of respondents to this survey (89.9%) had “negative attitudes” towards drink driving, despite 41.2% of respondents having admitted to driving within two hours of consuming five or more alcoholic beverages (Cacciottolo, 2013). This indicates a discrepancy between attitudes and actions – drink driving may not be motivated by belief or attitude, but by other factors such as convenience and mobility (Fry & Holden, 2007).

Current Legislation Maltese law refers to drink driving in the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government‘s document, the Traffic Regulation Ordinance. The ordinance gives various criteria for when it is legal for a police officer to be entitled to request a breath specimen from drivers. It also states when the police may proceed to arrest somebody for offences related to alcohol consumption and driving: an officer may arrest if a person refuses to produce a specimen, or if the specimen produced exceeds the legal limits. The legal limits are listed below (Traffic Regulation Ordinance, 2001): 1. 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath; or 2. 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood; or 3. 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine Organisations such as Agenzija Sedqa have argued that the legal BAC limit should be lowered to 0.5mg/ml, as it is in many other European countries, in order to reduce the number of fatalities related to drink driving. Apart from criticism of current legislation, Agenzija Sedqa and other social commentators have argued that without adequate enforcement, the problem of drink driving and its associations will not be solved (“Sedqa calls for lower alcohol limits for drivers,” 2009).

Main Text In view of the above, the Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA) feels that it should outline its position on the issue of drink driving in the Maltese Islands.

1. We call upon the government to acknowledge the fact that drink driving in Malta is a reality and is likely to be underreported. In light of this we call upon the government to: a. Begin collecting data which would allow the quantification and qualification of the drink driving situation in Malta: i.

This would include statistics about the prevalence of driving under the influence as well as the level of alcohol, age, sex, possession of a driving licence, previous motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), type/severity of crash, injuries and fatalities.

Such statistics would serve as a baseline by which progress can be monitored.

ii.

Data collection would necessitate: 1. The accurate investigating and reporting of all MVAs. 2. Accurate assessment of the scale of Malta’s drink driving problem.

b. Compare local statistics to statistics from other countries with identical or lower blood alcohol content (BAC) limits. c. Assess existing legislation about, or related to alcohol and driving, to determine whether this legislation: i.

is being implemented

ii.

could otherwise be updated to help implement a new programme

d. Assess current mechanisms of implementation of the existing legislation, determine the resources and funding allocated to it, and whether or not this is effective. Assessment should address the presence of traffic police, and the reason behind possible reluctance to stop and/or charge offending drivers. e. Assess the extent of the local situation and identify which population groups are mainly implicated in order to formulate a drink driving programme which would be both suitable and effective in our community. f. Identify the reasons why members of the community drink drive so that a new programme would be able to address local mentality, beliefs and misconceptions.

2. We highlight the need for strong political commitment to the cause. This will require: a. Support from key political leaders, decision makers and the community itself, who should publicise their clearly defined views on the issue. b. Collaboration between different government departments including transport, law enforcement and education; non-government organisations dedicated to the cause; the health industry; motor vehicle industry, entertainment industry and alcohol industry. c. Acknowledging the main areas of resistance and opposition in the community, and attempting to address these prior to, or in tandem with a drink driving programme.

4. We suggest the implementation of a drink driving programme to raise awareness about the dangers of drink driving, existing legislation and legal penalties inflicted on transgressors. This would involve:

a. More media space dedicated to educating the public in addition to visual campaigns and strategies used to raise awareness. b. Effective education of the community c. Promoting debates triggered by the launch of the programme, allowing the community to become well informed about the issue as well as the programme itself d. Increasing funds directed towards the programme. A pilot programme might be introduced initially, using the limited funds already available, with further funds being made available at a later stage.

5. We believe that there should be stricter laws regarding drink driving. a. The lowering of the legal blood alcohol limit for young or inexperienced drivers has decreased the incidence of alcohol-related accidents in this age group in other countries. b. Malta’s legal BAC limit is higher than that of other countries who have successfully managed to lower their drink driving prevalence through their own programmes. Lowering the limit has proved effective in other countries, and should be adopted locally. c. Penalties should be increased for drivers convicted of driving under the influence: heftier fines, driving licences suspended for longer periods of time, and harsher sentences for drivers causing injuries or fatalities.

6. We believe that legislation should be strictly enforced. a. Increasing the number of random breath tests (RBTs) being carried out, particularly in the evening and early morning, at areas where collisions are frequent, and at all collision sites, will increase the chance that a person

may be stopped while under the influence of alcohol. Furthermore, a person is less likely to engage in drink driving if s/he is apprehensive about being stopped and breathalysed. b. Sobriety checkpoints should be introduced throughout the island as often and for as long as possible, but especially throughout the weekend. c. Swift and strict punishment for persons caught driving under the influence would increase the credibility of a programme and would serve as a deterrent. d. Minimal targets of reductions in the number of collisions per year should be introduced to encourage law enforcement.

7. We believe that education is necessary to change mentality about drink driving or riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by a driver under the influence of alcohol. a. Alcohol education in schools should cover, but not be limited to the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive, existing legislation, and the dangers to society as a whole as a result of intoxicated drivers. b. Education should also target parents and families who often set a poor example. c. The level of social tolerance to drink driving should also be addressed. d. Public knowledge about legislation and its enforcement should be increased.

8. As students, and as residents in the Maltese Islands, we understand that affordable and reliable alternative modes of transport are not readily available, especially in the evenings. We believe that public transport should be more frequent, efficient and reliable, and that group transportation schemes and other accessible means of transport should be made available

in our country. We therefore call upon the transport authorities to set up regular transport alternatives, such as night buses and minivans.

9. We believe that the medical response to MVAs should be appropriate to drivers, passengers, or pedestrians injured in an alcohol-related incident, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality as far as possible. The Malta Medical Students’ Association encourages the inclusion of healthcare professionals in a drink driving programme, which would address training and available resources to ensure an appropriate emergency response and subsequent care.

Summary Drink-driving is defined in Maltese Law as “[attempting] to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in [one’s] breath, blood or urine exceed the prescribed limit” of 35μg of alcohol in 100ml of breath; 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood; or 107mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine (Traffic Regulation Ordinance, 2001). International research has collectively shown that blood alcohol levels above the Maltese legal limit of 0.8 mg/ml are strongly associated with fatal motor vehicle accidents.

There is little quantitative data on incidence, prevalence and mortality rates related to drink driving in Malta, making it difficult for the scale of the local problem to be assessed. In light of this, the Malta Medical Students’ Association wishes to call upon the government to begin collecting data to quantify the situation, and assess existing legislation together with its enforcement. Furthermore, we believe that a new comprehensive drink driving programme, which involves healthcare professionals, and targets the social aspect of drink driving through education programmes and alternative transport, should be implemented to address the problem, and reduce alcohol-related fatalities in the Maltese Islands.

References 1. Borg, B. (2011, December). Make zero tolerance the drink-drive limit. Retrieved from http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111206/local/Make-zerotolerance-the-drink-drive-limit.397130 2. Brust, J. C. M. (2010). Ethanol and cognition: Indirect effects, neurotoxicity and neuroprotection: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7, 1540–1557. doi:10.3390/ijerph7041540 3. Cacciottolo, L. (2013). Attitudes and Behaviour towards Drink Driving amongst a sample of University Students. University of Malta.

4. Diacono, T. (2015, February). Labour MP calls for enforcement of underage drinking laws.

Malta Today.

Retrieved from http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/49209/labour_mp_calls_for_enforc ement_of_underage_drinking_laws 5. Drink Driving.org.

(2015).

Retrieved February 17, http://www.drinkdriving.org/worldwide_drink_driving_limits.php

2015,

from

6. Fry, M., & Holden, S. (2007). Drink-driving : An examination of instrinsic and extrinsic exchange benefits. Marketing Communications.

7. Garcia, C. G., & Keegan, L. G. (n.d.). 2012 State of Drunk Driving Fatalities in America.

8. Hingson, R., & Winter, M. (2003). Epidemiology and consequences of drinking and driving. Alcohol Research & Health : The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 27(1), 63–78.

9. Sedqa calls for lower alcohol limits for drivers. (2009, December). The Times of Malta.

Retrieved from http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091216/local/sedqa-calls-for-loweralcohol-limits-for-drivers.286204

10. Traffic Regulation Ordinance (2001). Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-382219-2.00065-X