In a recent survey by the IAM, 68% of more than 2,600 respondents said they would like to see the new lower Scottish drink-drive limit introduced across England and Wales.
The Scottish government has announced that it will lower the legal drink-drive limit to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The new limit will come into effect on 5 December 2014.
More than 83% of those surveyed confirmed that they drink alcohol, and more than 47% agreed that lowering the limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood would reduce the number of road collisions.
53% of respondents also said they would like to see more thorough police checks to target drink-drivers, but only 5% supported an increase in alcohol prices to tackle the problem.
Neil Greig, IAM 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 urges the Westminster government to review its approach as a matter of urgency.”
If the limit is lowered then the penalties should also be lowered and brought more in line with continental practice, heavier fines but less disqualification.
Robert Bolt, St Albans
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Dave:
Can you give an example pls of a ‘huge publicity campaign’ designed to persuade people of the benefits of a lower drink drive limit?
Can you also pls give an example of a drink drive campaign which ‘distorts the truth’.
Nick Rawlings, editor, Road Safety News
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Support is not that strong. A third of people (which could mean most drivers) do not want a lower limit. Furthermore, most people believe that lowering the d/d limit will not reduce the number of road collisions, despite the huge publicity campaigns to persuade them otherwise. Why is that? The evidence doesn’t support the lower limit but I doubt most people will actually have looked at the evidence.
Instead of spending money on politicians to endlessly debate “doing something” and more cash on publicity campaigns which distort the truth, why not spend those precious resources on more traffic Police to enforce the perfectly good d/d laws we already have?
Dave Finney, Slough
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