Alcohol-Related Driving Trends in Switzerland

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The BFU Council for Accident Prevention in Switzerland has been actively analyzing drinking and driving behaviors in the country. The research shows a decreasing trend in alcohol consumption since the 1970s, with various patterns observed across different language regions. While there is no national roadside survey on drinking and driving, enforcement measures have been attempted, including police controls and judicial prosecutions for drunk driving offenses. The data highlights the importance of addressing alcohol-related issues on Swiss roads.

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bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and driving in Switzerland SMART, 21st of March 2016, Warsaw Uwe P. Ewert, PhD MPH, Researcher u.ewert@bfu.ch www.bfu.ch

bfu Council for accident prevention Switzerland Small country in the middle of Europe 8.3 million inhabitants 4 different languages/cultures German-speaking 64% French-speaking 20% Italian-speaking 6% Romansh-speaking 0.5% Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 2

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking in Switzerland Drinking is decreasing: 15 liters of pure alcohol in the 1970 s; 9.5 liters in 2014 (per inhabitant age 15 and older) Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 3

bfu Council for accident prevention Different drinking patterns in the language regions 30 Percent of persons drinking on more Italian-speaking Switzerland 25 than 2 days per week French-speaking Switzerland 20 German-speaking Switzerland 15 10 5 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 amount of alcohol drunk per day Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 4

bfu Council for accident prevention Frequency of drinking and driving As of today - no national roadside survey was conducted In french-speaking Switzerland: 4.7% of drivers checked had some alcohol Of these - 1.3% at 0.8 or higher - 3.4% below 0.5 DRUID Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 5

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and driving: police enforcement Percentage of drivers controlled for alcohol within the last year 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 Men Women 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 6

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and Driving: judicial enforcement Number of drivers prosecuted because of drunk driving (0.8 and more) over time 20,000 Number of prosecutions for drunk 18,000 punishment: fine or up to 3 years in prison 16,000 driving beyond .8 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Driving with BAC above 0.8 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 7

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and Driving: judicial enforcement Number of drivers prosecuted because of drunk driving (0.8 and more) over time 20,000 100 Number of prosecutions for drunk Percentage of all prosecutions punishment: fine or up to 3 years in prison 18,000 90 16,000 80 driving beyond .8 14,000 70 12,000 60 10,000 50 8,000 40 6,000 30 4,000 20 2,000 10 0 0 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Driving with BAC above 0.8 Percentage of all driving-related prosecutions Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 8

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and driving: administrative enforcement Number of license withdrawals: 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 License withdrawal because of alcohol 12,000 10,000 License withdrawal because of alcohol related to a crash 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2006 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 9

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and driving: administrative enforcement Percentage of license withdrawals: 40 35 30 percentage of licence withdrawal due to alcohol 25 20 percentage of licence withdrawal due to alcohol related to a crash 15 10 5 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 10

bfu Council for accident prevention Drinking and driving: administrative enforcement Percentage of license withdrawals because of alcohol by region: 30.0 25.3 25.0 23.0 20.0 16.5 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 french-speaking regions italian-speaking region german-speaking regions Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 11

bfu Council for accident prevention Number of persons injured in alcohol crashes 160 1000 900 140 800 120 700 100 600 80 500 fatally injured severely injured 400 60 300 40 200 20 100 0 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 12

bfu Council for accident prevention Number of persons injured in alcohol crashes 160 1000 900 140 800 120 700 100 600 81 80 500 fatally injured severely injured 400 63 60 300 40 40 200 20 100 0 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 13

bfu Council for accident prevention Number of persons injured in alcohol crashes 160 1000 900 140 800 120 700 100 600 80 500 fatally injured severely injured 400 60 300 45 40 35 200 21 20 100 0 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 14

bfu Council for accident prevention Percent of persons injured in alcohol crashes 25 20 18 15 15 15 13 percent severely injured percent fatally injured 10 10 5 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 15

bfu Council for accident prevention Decrease of alcohol-related fatalities from 21% to 10% since 1992 Decrease of alcohol-related severe injuries from 13% to 11% Two remarkable decreases in the fatalities beyond trend 2004 to 2006 2012 to 2014 What has happened? Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 16

bfu Council for accident prevention Percent of persons injured in alcohol crashes 25 20 18 15 13 percent severely injured percent fatally injured 10 5 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 17

bfu Council for accident prevention What has happenend from 2004 to 2006? 1st of January 2005: lowering of the maximum BAC from 0.8 to 0.5 1st of January 2005: random breath testing allowed (previously only on suspicion) 1st of January 2005: Cascade system for license withdrawal in case of repeated violations - depending on severity and frequency of violations Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 18

bfu Council for accident prevention Cascade system for license withdrawal Number of violation Severity of previous violations Minumum length of licence withdrawal minor medium severe First - warning 1 month 3 months Second 1 medium 1 month 4 months 6 months Third 2 medium 1 month 9 months 9 months 2 severe 1 month 15 months Undefined (at least 2 years) Fourth 3 medium 1 month Undefined (at least 2 years) Forever (at least 10 years) Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 19

bfu Council for accident prevention Percent of persons injured in alcohol crashes 25 20 15 15 percent severely injured percent fatally injured 10 10 5 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 20

bfu Council for accident prevention What has happenend from 2013 to 2014? 1st of January 2014: 0.1 BAC for learner license owners Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 21

bfu Council for accident prevention Summary Police enforcement of alcohol has increased by a factor of 3 since the year 2000 Legislation on alcohol has changed (0.5 , random breath testing allowed, cascade system of license withdrawal, 0.1 for young drivers) Decreases in punishment, license withdrawals and road fatalities Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 22

bfu Council for accident prevention Criticism Cascade system of license withdrawal is probably too difficult for all drivers to understand. Maybe change to a penalty point system? Differentiation between punishment and administrative measures is not understood well. License withdrawal is often regarded as the severest punishment. Drinking and driving in Switzerland, U. Ewert 08.10.2024 23