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The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is strongly supporting Scottish Government's move to lower its drink-drive limit in time for Christmas.
If the plans are approved by Scottish Parliament, the new limit will be introduced on December 5. When introduced, the new legal limit will be 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, a reduction from the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. A public awareness campaign will also be launched with the message that drivers should not drink alcohol at all.
RoSPA has campaigned for a lower drink-drive limit to be introduced across the whole of the UK.
It hopes that other parts of the country will now follow Scotland's lead in taking steps to reduce their drink-drive limits too.
Sandy Allan, RoSPA's road safety manager for Scotland, said "RoSPA welcomes and strongly supports the Scottish Government's decision to lower the drink-drive limit in Scotland, which we believe will save lives and prevent injuries on Scotland's roads.
"There is a considerable body of research which shows that reducing drink-drive limits is effective in reducing drink-drive deaths and injuries. We would like to see the rest of the UK follow Scotland's example."
The Scottish Government previously announced its intention to reduce the limit following consultation, which found almost three quarters of those who responded believed the drink-drive limit should be reduced.
Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The latest estimates show that approximately one in 10 deaths on Scottish roads involve drivers who are over the legal limit and research shows that even just one alcoholic drink before driving can make you three times as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.
"As a result, 20 families every year have to cope with the loss of a loved one and around 760 people are treated for injuries caused by someone who thought it was acceptable to drink alcohol and get behind the wheel and drive. We cannot let this continue."
Across the whole of Great Britain, an estimated 230 people were killed, 1200 were seriously injured and 8,510 were slightly injured in drink-drive accidents in 2012.
In the run up to the clocks going back this weekend, Rospa also urged William Hague to include time-zone devolution in constitutional changes he is overseeing.
The Foreign Secretary is chairing a new government committee looking at options for England and Scotland to make their own decisions on moving to a "Single/Double Summer Time" (SDST) system.
RoSPA's chief executive Tom Mullarkey has written to Hague urging the UK to put the clocks one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in winter and two hours ahead of GMT in summer, and has campaigned for decades to make lighter evenings a reality, on the grounds that more daylight on autumn/winter evenings would save lives and reduce injuries on the roads.
Mullarkey said: "We strongly believe that moving to Single/ Double Summer Time would save lives and reduce injuries and we will continue to lobby for change on this issue.
"At present, it is the perceived resistance in Scotland that is stalling the process, so we urge William Hague to seek time-zone change to reduce the number of lives being needlessly lost or diminished on the roads."
Research commissioned by the Department for Transport shows approximately 80 deaths and at least 200 serious injuries would be prevented on the roads each year if the UK switched to Single/Double Summer Time.
And, according to a report by Dr Mayer Hillman, of the Policy Studies Institute at the University of Westminster, an extra hour of evening daylight would benefit Scotland more than any other part of the UK because of the limited number of daylight hours it enjoys in the winter - with parts of the country receiving as little light as some places in the Arctic Circle.
Mullarkey added: "Darker nights are upon us now so it is important that the campaign steps up a gear.
"Extra evening daylight would protect vulnerable road users like children, the elderly, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists by making them more visible to motorists during the peak time for road use in the late afternoon and early evening."
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