Martin Saarinen

It’s time for tighter drinkdrive laws – and greater resources to enforce them

“The Government says that enforcement of the law is key – as it’s busy cutting police numbers”

A LOT has changed in 50 years. Political regimes that dominated nearly half the world have crumbled, borders have moved and technology has developed in ways we simply couldn’t have imaged in 1967. But some things stay the same. Like drink-driving limits in the UK.

The limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood was introduced in October 1967, and remains in place today, apart from in Scotland, where lower limits have been brought in.

This is odd, considering other laws have kept up with the times. Mobile phone use behind the wheel comes with double the penalties it did a few years ago. It’s illegal to smoke in the car with passengers under 18. Drug use has been clamped down on.

But not drink-driving. The Government is right in that the number of drink-drive deaths per year has plummeted from 1,640 in 1979 down to 200 in 2015 – a reduction of 88 per cent. However, it also adds that this isn’t a big enough drop and that it’s aiming to further reduce the numbers by launching a new THINK! drink-drive campaign later this year.

Surely it’s time to try something different? When Auto Express visited Scotland after it adopted the lower 50mg/100ml limit (Issue 1,378), Police Scotland said there had been a fall in drink-drivers. However, the Government says a lower limit alone won’t solve the problem, because enforcement and education are key.

Yet the same Government has been cutting police numbers. Let’s hope the next 50 years bring about more progress than just campaigns. As the past 50 years have shown, actions speak louder than words.