[size=+1]Bid to cut drink-drive limit by almost half[/size]
Motorists face having the legal alcohol limit for driving lowered by almost half under plans drawn up by a government road safety adviser.
By David Millward, Transport Editor
Published: 10:00PM BST 04 Jun 2010
The Daily Telegraph has learned that Coalition ministers are studying proposals to cut the drink-drive limit for the first time in a generation.
Under the plans, the limit would fall from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. Anyone caught above the new limit would face an automatic 12-month driving ban, even if they were only marginally over the threshold.
The plans were drawn up by Sir Peter North, the former Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, who was asked to review drink-drive laws by the Department for Transport.
Some estimates suggest that a single glass of wine or pint of strong beer can leave some people — and especially women — with a blood-alcohol level above 50mg.
However, Sir Peter is said to have advised that a 50mg rule would still allow many people to consume two drinks without exceeding the limit.
His review was commissioned by the previous Labour government but submitted to Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, late last month. The Daily Telegraph today discloses that the confidential recommendations are more radical than officials had expected.
Sir Peter’s other proposals include scrapping rules allowing a driver whose breathalyser reading is close to the legal limit to demand a second blood or urine test at the police station. The subsequent delay often puts drivers below the limit.
Sir Peter has also urged ministers to consider an even lower limit for novice drivers of 20mg for the first five years after passing their test. However, he has recommended that this be delayed until five years after the introduction of the 50mg limit for all drivers. Other proposals include random breath testing, giving the police the right to stop motorists at any time, and lifetime bans for high risk offenders. A “drug driving” law could create an offence of getting behind the wheel with an illegal substance in the bloodstream at levels that could be deemed impairing.
The 80mg limit has been in place since the introduction of the breathalyser more than 40 years ago. Before the election, the Conservatives said they were “not minded” to reduce the limit. But the Lib Dem/Conservative Coalition is now understood to be studying Sir Peter’s recommendations closely.
A government source confirmed that Sir Peter was calling for major changes in the rules. Sir Peter is understood to have said that there is a “persuasive” case for cutting the limit. He estimated that this could save up to 168 lives in England and Wales every year.
The idea of a lower limit has been backed by members of the AA and the British Medical Association.
However, the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, which represents pub landlords, opposed the move, suggesting it could lessen the stigma attached to a drink-driving conviction.
A spokesman said: “It is rightly seen by the public as anti-social and we don’t condone it in any way, shape or form. But the public perception of the lower limit may be different.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “We are considering Sir Peter’s report carefully.”
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-to-cut-drink-drive-limit-by-almost-half.html
Motorists face having the legal alcohol limit for driving lowered by almost half under plans drawn up by a government road safety adviser.
By David Millward, Transport Editor
Published: 10:00PM BST 04 Jun 2010
The Daily Telegraph has learned that Coalition ministers are studying proposals to cut the drink-drive limit for the first time in a generation.
Under the plans, the limit would fall from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. Anyone caught above the new limit would face an automatic 12-month driving ban, even if they were only marginally over the threshold.
The plans were drawn up by Sir Peter North, the former Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, who was asked to review drink-drive laws by the Department for Transport.
Some estimates suggest that a single glass of wine or pint of strong beer can leave some people — and especially women — with a blood-alcohol level above 50mg.
However, Sir Peter is said to have advised that a 50mg rule would still allow many people to consume two drinks without exceeding the limit.
His review was commissioned by the previous Labour government but submitted to Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, late last month. The Daily Telegraph today discloses that the confidential recommendations are more radical than officials had expected.
Sir Peter’s other proposals include scrapping rules allowing a driver whose breathalyser reading is close to the legal limit to demand a second blood or urine test at the police station. The subsequent delay often puts drivers below the limit.
Sir Peter has also urged ministers to consider an even lower limit for novice drivers of 20mg for the first five years after passing their test. However, he has recommended that this be delayed until five years after the introduction of the 50mg limit for all drivers. Other proposals include random breath testing, giving the police the right to stop motorists at any time, and lifetime bans for high risk offenders. A “drug driving” law could create an offence of getting behind the wheel with an illegal substance in the bloodstream at levels that could be deemed impairing.
The 80mg limit has been in place since the introduction of the breathalyser more than 40 years ago. Before the election, the Conservatives said they were “not minded” to reduce the limit. But the Lib Dem/Conservative Coalition is now understood to be studying Sir Peter’s recommendations closely.
A government source confirmed that Sir Peter was calling for major changes in the rules. Sir Peter is understood to have said that there is a “persuasive” case for cutting the limit. He estimated that this could save up to 168 lives in England and Wales every year.
The idea of a lower limit has been backed by members of the AA and the British Medical Association.
However, the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, which represents pub landlords, opposed the move, suggesting it could lessen the stigma attached to a drink-driving conviction.
A spokesman said: “It is rightly seen by the public as anti-social and we don’t condone it in any way, shape or form. But the public perception of the lower limit may be different.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “We are considering Sir Peter’s report carefully.”
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-to-cut-drink-drive-limit-by-almost-half.html
