Alcohol killing more motorists

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 22

Alcohol killing more motorists

Alcohol was a factor in nearly 40 per cent of all road fatalities last year. The Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan) told Parliament that of the 539 fatal accidents last year, alcohol was a factor in 36.9 per cent. However, he said, this did not necessarily mean it was the cause of all the accidents. In some cases it might have been detected in a driver who was not to blame for the accident The number of fatalities in other years, and the percentage in which alcohol. was a factor, were: 1972, 622, 18.8; 1973, 741,1 Rn.s; 1974, 612, 24-3; 1975,1 574, 34.8. i

i Mr McLachlan, who gave I the figures in reply to a Question by Dr I. J. Shearer (National, Hamilton East), said alcohol was a factor — [ not necessarily the cause—in 192 per cent of all the • 12,321 road accidents last

year. In 1972, it was a factor in only 8 per cent of the more than 14,000 accidents. The percentage was up to 10.5 of the 14,000 accidents in 1974, but jumped to 18.2 per cent of the more than 13,000 accidents in 1975. Mr McLachlan said that the new accident reporting (system introduced in 1975 i might have been the cause iOf the rise in the percentage iof accidents in which alcomol was a factor.