Diana’s death kindles debate on road safety

Date: 11/09/1997

By Leyla Linton

THE controversy over the role of alcohol and speed in the car crash in Paris which killed Diana, Princess of Wales, and her companion Dodi Fayed, has highlighted the issue of road safety in the Union.

EU transport ministers had already planned to discuss road safety at their informal meeting in Luxembourg next month. But officials believe the circumstances surrounding the death of the princess will give added impetus to the debate.

Question marks remain over how much alcohol the driver of her car had drunk on the night of the accident, how fast he was travelling and whether fatalities could have been prevented if all the passengers had been wearing seatbelts.

Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock's spokeswoman Sarah Lambert said that a communication on road safety published in April had highlighted key factors influencing survival rates in accidents.

“What is clear to us in our analysis is that the primary things which make a difference are speed, alcohol, substance abuse and putting a seatbelt on,” she continued.

Proposals to harmonise blood alcohol levels at a maximum of 0.5 milligrams per litre across the Union have been languishing on the table since 1988, with member states showing little enthusiasm for tackling the issue.

“It is possible that member states may feel it is now time to look at it,” said Lambert, who added that governments had been moving towards a similar low level over the past few years.

Most member states have limits of 0.5mg/litre or 0.8mg/l. Sweden has a limit of 0.2mg/l, reflecting the Scandinavian determination to take a tough stand on drink-driving.

Andrew Howard, of the British Automobile Association, said three-quarters of its members wanted to see a reduction in the British limit from 0.8mg/l to 0.5mg/l. “Drink-driving in Britain is seen as a heinous offence,” he said.

But although the organisation supports stricter alcohol limits as part of a package of measures, Howard said that the penalties for driving over the limit, and how the offence was tested, were also significant in deterring drink-drivers.

More than 45,000 people are killed on roads in the EU every year and Kinnock estimates the cost to society at 1 million ecu per death.

His April communication also highlighted mutual recognition of the withdrawal of driving licences as one way to improve road safety.

A draft convention on driving disqualifications will be discussed by the K4 Committee, which deals with justice and home affairs issues, later this month (24-25 September).

But one of the fundamental problems to be resolved is that even if it were possible to get agreement on the mutual recognition of driving bans across the EU, it would still be very difficult to harmonise the grounds for revoking licences. Drink-driving could, for example, lead to a fine in one member state and disqualification in another.

A spokesman for the AIT and FIA, which represent 40 million drivers in the EU, said: “Mutual recognition is only possible if it is ensured that the same conduct will have the same consequences for motorists in the European Union.”

Luxembourg, which holds the EU presidency, is to launch a campaign on road safety with a conference on the issue in November.