Insurance firms back random breathalyser call

Insurance companies have backed a call by the government’s substance abuse agency Sedqa for random breathalyser tests, pointing to the significant number of claims related to drink driving.

The Malta Insurance Association also supports Sedqa’s proposals to lower the alcohol limit. “Excessive alcohol costs lives – very often those of innocent victims. Society cannot allow this luxury,” it said.

The association did not have definitive statistics on the claims related to drink driving, however, last year it paid out €2.5 million for injuries and fatal accidents, a leap on the €1.9 million for 2008, association director general Anton Felice said. It must be kept in mind that the cost of such claims was ultimately funded by the premiums paid by motorists, the association said.

Two weeks ago, Sedqa renewed its appeal for a lower alcohol limit, down from 80mg/dl of blood to 50 mg/dl, which, on average, would mean a limit of one small beer, a glass of wine or a shot of spirit per hour.

At present, the police are only empowered to carry out a breathalyser test on reasonable suspicion that a person is drunk. Even then, a driver may refuse the test, leaving the police with only one option: to arrest the person on the basis of the refusal. On a positive note, the association was satisfied with the recent changes in the law allowing for the use of a “wider range of breathalyser equipment”.

The changes also made a driver who refuses to submit to a blood alcohol test criminally liable and raised the fine for such offence from €465 to €1,200.

The association called for an immediate and effective public awareness campaign on drink driving that would not only highlight the dangers but also increase awareness of the legal alcohol limit. Referring to April Eurobarometer statistics, it noted that in Malta only eight per cent of respondents knew what the limit was. “This is unacceptable and needs to be remedied if this problem is to be effectively tackled,” it said.