Increased fines call for drink drivers
The Scottish Government say there is “no evidence” for tougher drink- driving fines despite demands for an increase by Scottish Labour.
The party claims TV star Ant McPartlin would have paid a fraction of the record penalty imposed if his crash had taken place north of the border.
The £ 130,000- a- week presenter was fined £86,000 after driving while more than twice the legal limit in London in March.
But Labour said he would have been fined a maximum of £ 5000 if the offence had occurred in Scotland, due to the “standard scale” for financial penalties.
Labour justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said courts should be allowed to impose larger f ines to deter wealthier motorists.
Cases where driving under the influence was the main conviction increased from 3537 in 2015-16 to 3646 the f o l low ing ye a r , according to Scot t ish Government figures, with 2851 fines imposed.
Johnson welcomed the long-term fall in cases with 7820 recorded in 2007-08, but said action was still needed to tackle the problem.
The Labour MSP said: “We should not be complacent about this progress, and this year’s increase shows there is still work to do to prevent drink driving.
The Scottish Government said setting maximum penalties for drink-driving was reserved to the UK Government and there was no evidence they needed to be revised in Scotland.