|
Breath-test limit could be cut to just a half Motorists
could find themselves over the alcohol limit after just one drink under
a proposal to bring Britain’s and Ireland’s drink-drive law
into line with the rest of Europe.
The British Government is considering lowering the limit from 80mg of
alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg and later this year will publish a
consultation paper to gauge opinion.
With a 50mg limit, most people would be able to consume only one 175ml
glass of standard-strength wine or half-a-pint of strong beer and remain
legally fit to drive.
The Department for Transport has rejected calls by the British Medical
Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) for a
lower limit.
It wanted police to focus on those well-over the existing limit —
who were most likely to cause a crash.
But Ministers have been embarrassed by a series of studies showing that
Britain is lagging behind the rest of Europe in tackling drink-driving.
All the other main European countries have lowered their limits either
to 50mg or 20mg.
The Irish Republic and Luxembourg are still on 80mg but have indicated
that they will move to 50mg.
Research by University College London found that lowering the limit to
50mg would prevent an estimated 65 deaths and 230 injuries a year in Britain
alone. It would also save the economy £119million a year by reducing
medical costs and lost working time.
|
