The University of Adelaide CENTRE FOR AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY RESEARCH

home   /   centre for automotive safety research   /   Publications   /   List   /   Details

Publication Details

TitleReduction of the legal blood alcohol limit and late night drink driving in Adelaide
AuthorsMcLean AJ, Kloeden CN
Year1992
TypeReport
AbstractTwo roadside breath alcohol surveys were conducted in Adelaide in 1991 to monitor the effect of lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.08 to 0.05 g/100mL on July 1, 1991. The surveys were conducted from 10pm to 3am by the NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit in a similar manner to six previous surveys over the previous 10 years. The percentage of drivers at or above the then legal limit of 0.08 was at its lowest point in 10 years in early 1991, as was the percentage of drivers at or above 0.05. Soon after the introduction of the lower legal limit there was a 27.2% reduction in the percentage of drivers at or above 0.05. There were also reductions in the proportion of drivers at or above 0.08 (21.4%) and in those who had any level of alcohol in their blood (20.8%). However the magnitude of these early reductions in drink driving was not sustained. In the last half of the survey conducted after the introduction of the 0.05 limit the percentage reductions in both legal and illegal drink driving were between seven and eight per cent compared with the levels measured before the change in the limit. It is therefore recommended that any further change in drink driving be monitored by means of a similar roadside survey early in 1993, and that any changes in alcohol involvement in crashes also be investigated.
Report Number1/92
PublisherOffice of Road Safety, SA Department of Transport
Publisher CityAdelaide
SponsorSA Department of Road Transport - Office of Road Safety
ISBN724347305
Page Count13
NotesAvailable from CASR library on request

Reference
McLean AJ, Kloeden CN (1992). Reduction of the legal blood alcohol limit and late night drink driving in Adelaide (1/92). Adelaide: Office of Road Safety, SA Department of Transport.


Files Available for Download
CASRBACReduction1071.pdfcomplete report as published (pages 1 to 3 scanned and OCR'ed)