Drivers face ‘none for the road’ drink limit

DRIVERS could soon be banned from having “one for the road” as the fire service and local councils call for the Government to lower the drink-drive limit to the equivalent of less than a pint of beer.

The change could eventually save more than 300 lives a year by reducing drink-related car accidents in England and Wales, according to estimates by the Local Government Association.

The body, which represents more than 370 councils and all fire and rescue authorities, wants the Government to drop the current “safe” driving limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The amount of alcohol someone needs to drink to be over the driving limit varies from person to person, and depends on factors such as their weight, sex and stress levels.

In a typical case, in which the 80mg limit is reached after someone drinks a pint and a half of beer, a 50mg limit would be reached by drinking a single pint of beer.

The hope is that the move will encourage drivers to adopt a “none for the road” habit by avoiding alcohol altogether. Current rules mean that Eng- land and Wales have one of the highest drink-drive limits in the world, which councils say is “sending out the wrong message” to drivers.

In 2014, Scotland lowered its drink drive limit to 50mg.

This change resulted in a 20 per cent reduction in fatal road accidents within a year.

Conversely, provisional government figures show that reported “serious” drink-drive accidents in Great Britain rose from 880 to 980, an increase of 11 per cent over the same period.

The number of people seriously injured in reported drink-drive accidents

also rose by 9 per cent, with the number rising from 1,070 to 1,170.

The lower limit would also save £300 million annually by reducing the number of 999 responses and hospital admissions.

Last night, the transport select committee reiterated its previous calls for the Government urgently to assess the impact of other countries lowering their legal blood limit and consider a lower limit for England and Wales.

Louise Ellman MP, chairman of the transport select committee, said: “Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit is one of the main causes of road fatalities. It is one of what police deem their “Fatal 4” of main causes of road fatalities.

“We would like a reassurance from ministers that they will look at the latest evidence from Scotland. Any reports of rising accidents on our roads due to drink-driving should be taken seriously.”

Simon Blackburn, chairman Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “A lower alcohol limit would help to deter motorists from drinking at all before getting behind the wheel and encourage them to have ‘none for the road’.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Those over the current drink-driving limit cause a disproportionate amount of harm. These are the people we need to focus our efforts and resources upon.

“Our roads continue to be among the safest in the world because we crack down on those who break the law.”

An NHS hospital is refusing to close smoking areas on its premises because it believes this would put patients at risk of being hit by nearby speeding vehicles.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals in Dorset said it had tried a smoking ban on its grounds, but that this had forced smokers close to the adjacent main road, where cars and lorries often travel at 50mph.