Written question by Aldo Patriciello (PPE) on Alcohol and road accidents

Date published: 20 November 2009

Please note that the question below will be answered by the European commission in writing within the next six weeks.

– In 2008, 39 000 people in the EU died as a result of road accidents.

– Even though that figure was 8.5% lower than the total for 2007, the EU is still nowhere near the targets set in the White Paper of 13 January 2001, which called for the number of victims to be halved by 2010 (compared with 2001, when the toll reached an all-time high of 54 400).

– Alcohol is the biggest contributory factor in serious or fatal road accidents, as can be seen from the studies conducted by the Italian National Alcohol Observatory, part of the National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion (Cnesps); according to these findings, intoxicated young people aged between 15 and 33 are involved in one accident in every four (25%).

– In Italy, the figures compiled by the National Alcohol Observatory suggest that 50% of road accidents are caused by alcohol, which is also the main cause of death in the 18-24 age group.

– As well as the immense social and human costs, there are high economic costs, given that the impact of road accidents amounts to 2% of GDP.

– There are no harmonized rules at European level on permitted blood alcohol levels (in the United Kingdom the limit is 0.8; in Italy, Austria, France, and Spain, 0.5; in Germany, 0.3; and in Switzerland, 0.2).

Given the failure to meet the targets laid down in the 2001 White Paper, does the Commission not consider that it should provide for further Community measures, focusing on prior awareness, oversight, and punishment, with a view to improving on the results achieved to date?

Does it not believe in addition that harmonised rules are needed in order to establish a standard Community-wide blood alcohol limit for drivers?