Reducing the availability of alcohol

The problem of drink driving would not exist if alcohol were not available. It is not realistic to assume that a complete ban on the sale of alcohol for all EU-member states ever will come into force. And even if it is prohibited to sell alcohol, alcohol consumption would not disappear. However, it is possible to discourage drinking alcohol by increasing the price of alcohol (high taxes), having restrictions on the sale of alcohol in time (restricting the opening hours of the places where alcohol can be bought and where it can be consumed) and place (especially banning the sale of alcohol in petrol stations and transport cafes). Another measure in this category is raising the minimum drinking age (i.e. in the US alcohol is not for sale for people younger than 21).

Effectiveness of measures to reduce the availability of alcohol

Of all the measures mentioned in this category, only evaluation studies on changes in the general drinking age could be found. These studies have all been carried out in the United States. From these studies Elvik & Vaa [15] conclude that raising the drinking age (from 18 to 21) leads to a decrease of 24% of all fatal crashes involving drivers of 18 to 21 years of age and a 31% decrease of injury crashes in this age group.