Calls for new Scottish drink-drive limit to be introduced in England and Wales

By Fleet News
|
31 October 2014

More than two-thirds (68%) of motorists surveyed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) would like the proposed Scottish drink-drive limit to be introduced across England and Wales.

Under the new proposal, the Scottish government will lower the legal drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood before Christmas to reduce the number of drink-related accidents and deaths on Scotland’s roads. (More here.)

More than 80% of IAM’s 2,632 survey respondents confirmed that they drink alcohol, and around half (47%) agree that lowering the limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood will reduce the number of accidents taking place across UK roads.

Neil Greig, IAM’s director of policy and research, said: “England and Wales are now totally out of step with drink-drive limits across the rest of Europe.

"Existing research has shown that between 63 and 116 lives can be saved every year by a lower limit. Different limits are also a recipe for confusion and the IAM would urge the Westminster government to review its approach as a matter of urgency.”

The poll further revealed that around half (53%) would prefer more thorough police checks to target drink-drivers, while only 5% would support an increase in alcohol prices to tackle the problem.

More articles on:

Institute of Advanced Motorists - IAM

Author: Fleet News

Comments (6)

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Martin Hawker - 31/10/2014 12:06

This is a win win situation. Anything that helps to reduce loss of life can't be bad
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Anthony Franklin - 31/10/2014 12:50

Why not zero tolerance to make the message clear and avoid any confusion.
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Ralph Collins - 31/10/2014 15:24

Zero tolerance isn't the answer as you would have to convict thousands of drivers who could be stopped during the next day with a minute trace. What needs to be done is to educate people about the relationship between ABV (the amount of alcohol in their drink) and the size of their drink... People don't realise when they have consumed 3 "large" glasses of wine which is a 250ml measure that they have had a whole 750ml bottle of wine and if it has an ABV of 13% they must not drive for about 9-10 hours...
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Anthony - 31/10/2014 15:36

I lead to believe this works in other countries and dependent on the alcohol level the severity could be changed initially to ease any policy change in. Its about changing a culture. I know a lot of companies and construction sites out there already operate under a zero tolerance policy with success.
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Clive Bridgeman - 31/10/2014 17:40

ZERO tolerance to alcohol would be much better and much easier because the driver just does NOT drink at all. Any permissivity always causes over or under estimation and therefore accidents.
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Morriarty - 27/11/2014 00:54

Excuse me folks; we in England actually like our rural pubs and craft real ales that rely on them. Our limit is sensible and commands the respect of these pubs and the rural communities they serve. Reduce the limit and the police will lose the good will of these communities. The problem with drink driving is not those who stop for a single pint on the way home from work, or who dare to have a glass of wine whilst having dinner at a friend's house, but those who don't care about the law or risk anyway. Wiping out England's rural pub heritage is not the answer, but then we live in a society where common sense will not be tolerated.
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