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Motoring bodies unite on lower drink-drive limits
Date: 10 October 2016 | Author: Daniel Puddicombe
Key motoring and road safety stakeholders have called on the Government to reduce England's drink-driving limit.
The bodies involved in the project - which includes The AA, road safety charity Brake and the RAC Foundation - claim there is also "strong public support" for any changes, with a recent British Social Attitude Survey finding that just over three-quarters (77%) of the public would support lowering the limit.
According to Brake, there hasn't been a reduction in the number of drink-driving deaths since 2010 despite the Government saying it "remains a priority".
The road safety charity claims that if ministers were to lower the legal limit to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood from the current 80mg/100ml level it would reduce the number of casualties by at least 10%.
Scotland lowered its legal limit to 50mg in December 2014, and Brake cites figures from the police, which suggest there was a 12.5% decrease in drink-drive offences within the first nine months of the lower legal limit being active.
"Drink-driving remains one of the biggest causes of devastating road crashes; often young and inexperienced drivers and passengers are involved and frequently they are the tragic victims. We must continue to send a clear message to all drivers that drinking and driving is a lethal cocktail," said Gary Rae, Brake's director of communications and campaigns. "It's shocking to see how many crashes, many involving deaths and serious injuries, have involved men in their 20s. This call to action today is a useful stepping stone to a time when there is a zero alcohol limit."
