Drink Driving Limit Should Be Reduced

The drink driving limit should be lowered to curb the rise in deaths caused by drunk young drivers, road safety campaigners said today.

Random breath testing and harder hitting campaigns are also needed to halt the increase in fatal accidents.

As five police forces raised concern about the number of youngster found drink driving Leicestershire police revealed that the number of 17 to 24 year olds driving while over the limit has risen to the highest level in a decade.

The Metropolitan police say that a quarter of all arrests for drink driving in London are of drivers aged 24 and under.

Every week eleven people are killed by drunk drivers. Between 1996 and 1999, the number of deaths caused by drunk drivers fell dramatically from 580 a year to 460, but provisional figures for 2005 show that they have risen sharply to 560 deaths.

And today, major road safety groups united in their calls for the drink/drive limit to be slashed from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, the equivalent of between two and two and a half units of alcohol.

One problem is the increasing strength of wine and beers, larger measures for a glass of wine means that the rule of thumb where a half a pint or a glass of wine equals a unit no longer applies.

Cathy Keeler, head of campaigns at Brake, said: "It is a huge problem, and it is really confusing, which is why the only safe amount to have is none. If you start counting your units, in a sense you are missing the point because your driving is affected however much you drink.

"The alcohol industry has a huge role to play. Glass sizes for wine have increased hugely, and are quite often two or three times bigger than you would have had five to ten years ago."

She added: "Our drink driving limit leads to an assumption that it is OK to drink and drive. It is one of the highest in Europe, where most countries set the limit at 50 milligrams, and we would like to see it reduced to 20, which is the limit for train drivers and pilots.

"Even if it is reduced to 50 milligrams, you can't really have a drink and be sure that you are under the limit.

"Another problem is that the level of breath testing in the UK is minuscule compared to other countries.

"One per cent of all drivers are tested every year in the UK, whereas in New Zealand they test half of all drivers every year, which is a massive deterrent."

Ms Keeler also called for more graphic campaigns showing the consequences of drink driving, and said that graduated driving licenses setting a lower alcohol limit for young people could also be effective.

She said: "In Northern Ireland they show very hard hitting adverts showing deaths and injuries which are banned in this country for being too graphic, but they have made a difference.

"Graduated driver licensing would also go some way to reducing the problem, where drivers get their licenses in stages, and there are stricter restrictions on driving in the beginning stages.

"One of the restrictions in the provisional stages could be a much lower drink driving limit."

A spokesman from Alcohol Concern backed calls for the drink driving limit to be slashed to prevent deaths from drink driving.

Frank Soodeen said: "We would like to see the limit reduced.

"When it went down to 50 in 1995 in France, there was a four per cent reduction in deaths caused by traffic accidents, and in Belgium there was a ten per cent reduction.

"In the 80s and 90s there was a large decrease in the number of deaths due to drink driving thanks to a strong campaign by the government, but they have increased again by a fifth.

"We need more campaigns which show how much trouble you can be in if you drink and drive."

But another campaigner accused the police of being "too lax" in preventing drink driving, and said that young people thought that they would not be caught.

David Williams, chief executive of the Guild of Experienced Motorists, (GEM), said: "One of the main reasons for this rise is the lack of police activity on our roads. The number of traffic officers has been reduced, and it's far too lax. Also, the whole message has become rather stale.

"But the underlying fact is that people don't believe there is enough policing on the road. Young people say 'We never see people being tested, so it's worth the risk'. We want police to be given the power to do random breath testing.

"The number of teenagers drinking alcopops is also worrying. Teenagers who would turn their noses up at beer see it as more acceptable, because they taste just like fizzy drinks. That's a worrying thing, and it is quite wrong."

Roger Vincent, a spokesman for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said that 65 lives a year could be saved if the limit was reduced to 50 milligrams of alcohol, and that 230 serious injuries would also be prevented.

He said: "Even with a small amount of alcohol in your blood you are six times more likely to crash. Just because the limit is 80, it doesn't mean that it is a safe limit.

"We would like to see a reduction in the drink drive limit, which estimates have shown could save 65 lives a year, and 230 serious injuries a year. That would also be an opportunity to kick start a harder hitting campaign explaining why drink driving needs to be tackled."

National News