2/1/2021 The Effectiveness of
Drinking-and-Driving
Legislation in Norway
and Sweden
2021 KMB11B International Business II: English Business Writing
Ralf Klein
HOGESCHOOL LEIDEN
S1113666 - EBW
, Thesis statement: What effect do different legal approaches have
on the number of people who drive after
drinking in Norway and Sweden?
The Effectiveness of Drinking-and-Driving Legislation in Norway and
Sweden
Driving under the influence of alcohol is a big deal in Norway and Sweden. For example, in Norway,
alcohol laws are extremely strict and a person driving after an alcoholic beverage can get severely
punished. The limit is 0.02 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of alcohol for all drivers of motor vehicles,
which, is lower than in most other European countries. In the Netherlands, for example, one is no
longer allowed to drive if one has 0.05 per cent alcohol in his or her blood. Men reach the limit of
0.02 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) after drinking one glass, women with less than one glass. Like
Norway, it is unwise to drive in Sweden if one has been drinking alcohol. The limit for alcohol here is
also 0.02 per cent. The big question now is: What effect do different legal approaches have on the
number of people who drive after drinking in Norway and Sweden? This can be evaluated by
comparing different methods of the two countries. For example, both Norway and Sweden have the
same maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Nevertheless, it is interesting to investigate
whether these two countries have different approaches in prosecuting people who exceed this limit
and whether this has an impact on the number of people who drive after drinking.
Road safety in both countries
First, it is interesting to know that the roads in Norway and Sweden are safe compared to other
countries. Speed is modest and most roads have little traffic (Contributors to Wikimedia projects.
2021, January 23) This is important to know because it impacts the effectiveness of the Drinking-and-
Driving legislation. The quality of the roads therefore is something different. As for Norway, driving
from south to north is a distance of 2200 km or the equivalent of driving from the north of Denmark
to Rome. In addition, the entire country consists of mountain ranges, valleys, and fjords (a long,
narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier). Most of the roads except near the cities
are narrow and windy. In this case, Sweden has performed a lot better when it comes to road safety.
Almost all roads in Sweden have two or more lanes in one direction, excellent road coverage and
lightning (International Driving Authority. (2018, September 17). Therefore, it is safer to drive in
Sweden than in Norway when it comes to road conditions.
The behaviour of drivers
From January 1, 2001, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit in Norway was reduced from
0,05 to 0,02 g/l. According to Assum T. (2010, November 1), they run out a before-and-after
telephone survey concerning the effects of reduced blood alcohol concentration (BAC). At that time,
3001 people were interviewed who owned a driving license. The question rounds took place before
the amendment took effect and after the amendment took effect. This showed that before the
amendment came into effect, 82% claimed not to consume alcohol for driving. After the amendment
went into effect, 91% claimed they would not consume alcohol. This shows that the amendment has
an impact on the behaviour of the drivers. More than a decade before, Sweden had already reduced
their BAC in 1990. To assess the impact of this reform, an intervention ARIMA-analysis was
performed on traffic accidents data (Lawrence, D. 1997). Three categories of accidents were
analysed. 1, fatal accidents, 2, single-vehicle accidents and 3, all road accidents. Looking at the results
of the analysis, the following came to light: The reduction was approximately 7% for all road
accidents, 11% for single-vehicle accidents and 10% for fatal accidents. If one combines the numbers
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