The high road to disaster... Drink-drivers halted

Devices that disable cars if the driver is over the alcohol limit should be considered in the continuing fight against drinking and driving, said a report out yesterday.

Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices have been used on convicted drink-drive offenders in the United States, Canada and Australia.

They are one of a number of new ideas that are "urgently needed to beat the menace of drink-driving", said the report from the British Institute of Traffic Education Research.

Produced for the Portman Group, which is funded by several leading drinks companies, the report called for tougher sentences such as immediate licence suspension, confiscation of cars belonging to convicted drink-drivers and the expansion of rehabilitation programmes for offenders.

"This research shows that to reduce the drink-drive limit alone would be of limited benefit only," said Portman Group director Jean Coussins.