This article was first published in the Sept/Oct 2024 issue of IQ, the exclusive magazine for Mensa members. Find out more about becoming a Mensa member here.
On 9 October 1967, then transport minister, Barbara Castle, introduced a device to Britain’s roads that would change motoring history and save many thousands of lives: the breathalyser. But she had a struggle on her hands. Motorists and business owners rallied against what they saw as an infringement upon public freedom and fought for the right to drink and drive.
The surprisingly controversial history of drink-driving law in the UK began long before the arrival of the breathalyser, and before even the age of the motor car. The Licensing Act of 1872 made it illegal to be drunk while in charge of horses and carriages, cattle, and steam engines, punishable by a fine of up to 40 shillings or a stint in prison with hard labour.
At that time, ‘drunkenness’ was judged mainly on observable factors; subjective measures of whether the driver seemed in control of the vehicle. Imprecise tests, such as making drivers walk in a straight line or stand on one leg, determined if a driver’s inebriation went beyond the law.
Blow by blow
It wasn’t until 1967 that the law made it official: a blood alcohol limit was introduced for drivers. It was set at 80mg per 100ml, and remains at that number today (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at least – Scotland reduced the legal limit to 50mg per 100ml in 2014). The Alcotest 80 was introduced as the first roadside breathalyser and police forces up and down the country were issued with the equipment. The first motorist to be breathalysed was stopped by police in Shropshire.
In Ireland, the breathalyser came into operation in late 1969 – soon after the introduction of a 60mph speed limit – with a blood level limit of 125mg per 100ml.
Barbara Castle hoped that the breathalyser would make Britain’s roads safer and reduce accidents by deterring motorists from driving whilst over the limit. But the shift didn’t come without resistance, in particular from publicans who felt it was an infringement on personal liberty and would be the ruin of their businesses.
A proven lifesaver
Just two years earlier, the 70 miles per hour speed limit had been introduced in the UK, causing uproar among some motorists who had previously enjoyed driving at unlimited speeds along roads outside of town. Initially temporary, the law was made permanent by Barbara Castle in the same year she introduced the breathalyser test. The fact that she was not a driver – not uncommon for women at the time – outraged some particularly passionate motorists, who felt she should keep her nose out of such matters.
Despite the outcry, Castle could feel well and truly vindicated by the statistics. Reports state that in the first 12 months after the breathalyser was introduced, there were 1,100 fewer road deaths than in the previous year and 11,000 fewer serious injuries sustained in car accidents. It was, without doubt, a piece of life-saving legislation.
