Alcohol – Only Zero has Zero Consequences

The DGT has launched a new awareness campaign to coincide with the Easter period, focussing on the risks involved in the consumption of alcohol before driving.

Although there is an alcohol limit established in law, a limit which is considerably lower than that of the UK for example, the only safe amount of alcohol that you should consume before driving is zero.

Alcohol is present in 1 out of every 3 fatal traffic incidents. In 2021, almost 55,000 criminal convictions were handed down for traffic crimes, for driving with very high levels of alcohol. Through a children’s song, and the usual excuses that people who have consumed alcohol give for getting behind the wheel, and the dramatic consequences that this irresponsible attitude can have, are told.

The slogan chosen this time is “Alcohol lies to you. Only 0 has 0 consequences”, and the different pieces put into the mouths of children, who in this case are those who suffer the consequences of traffic incidents caused by alcohol consumption, these excuses that we have all heard at some time: “with two you do not test positive”, “I live five minutes away”, “it has only been one drink”, or “nothing has ever happened to me”, among others.

The main reason that has led the DGT to choose this topic is that alcohol is present, either as a concurrent factor or as a trigger, in 1 out of every 3 fatal traffic incidents. And not only that because, according to the 2021 Report “Toxicological findings in fatalities in traffic accidents” from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, almost half of the drivers killed in traffic accidents who underwent autopsies, had the presence of alcohol and/or other drugs in their blood, a percentage that rises to 75% in the specific case of alcohol, all of them with very high blood alcohol levels (equal to or greater than 1.2 g/L). In addition, in 2021, 54,764 criminal convictions were handed down for traffic crimes, for driving with very high rates of alcohol.

The campaign tries, once again, to put an end to the perception that many people have that the risk of an incident is only associated with very high levels of alcohol consumption, when the reality is that the negative effects of alcohol on driving ability are also observed with low levels of intake. That is why the DGT insists that only 0 has 0 consequences.