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Dept for Transport

Answer

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of road accidents involving (a) fatalities, (b) serious injuries, (c) minor injuries and (d) damages and in which a contributory factor was (i) alcohol, (ii) illegal drugs and (iii) legal pharmaceuticals in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [204959] Mr. Jamieson: It is provisionally estimated that there were 560 fatalities, 2,580 serious and 15,870 minor injuries in 2003 as a result of accidents where at least one driver was over the legal alcohol limit. Information regarding damage-only accidents is not available. Equivalent estimates of casualties in road accidents where the use of legal or illegal drugs was a contributory factor are not available, as routine accident reports do not currently record contributory factors to accidents. However, under a pilot scheme, information on contributory factors to road accidents has been collected by 15 police forces. The influence of drugs was recorded as a contributory factor in about 1 per cent. of injury accidents recorded under this pilot scheme in both 2002 and 2003.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

204959; 428 c1359W;428 c1357-9W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Death Accidents Drugs Injuries Driving under influence Drunkenness Roads

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk