Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of drink driving in rural communities and whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of the use of alcohol interlocks to tackle this issue.

The Department publishes annual estimates of drink-drive casualties in Great Britain. In 2024, an estimated 1,740 people were killed or seriously injured in collisions involving at least one driver over the legal alcohol limit. The published drink-drive estimates do not currently provide a rural–urban breakdown, so we cannot conclude from them whether drink driving has a disproportionate impact on rural communities.

The Government consulted on the potential use of alcohol ignition interlocks (‘alcolocks’) as part of its consultation on proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences. We are analysing the consultation responses and the available evidence, including the potential effectiveness of alcolocks, and will announce next steps in due course.