The immediate suspension of a driver's license after the driver fails an alcohol test could save hundreds of lives every year, US researchers have revealed.
The announcement comes as the UK government is in the midst of a campaign to tackle drunk driving, particularly among young people, which is a leading cause of road related deaths in the country.
According to researchers from the University of Florida, timing is key – the immediate suspension of a license could reduce alcohol related deaths by five per cent, and the quicker the suspension can be carried out, the better.
Results will be published in the August issue of Alcoholism: "Clinical & Experimental Research".
'The threat of immediate suspension of the driver's license is a larger deterrent than the threat of more severe penalties that may occur at a later date,' argued Alexander C Wagenaar, professor of epidemiology at the College of Medicine of the University of Florida.
The research was conducted on fatal alcohol-related crashes from 1976 to 2002, across 46 states in the US.
It showed that the timing of the suspension was an important factor, as it would make drivers react more quickly and reinforce the link of the punishment to the infraction, researchers argued.
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