16/06/2010

Drink Drive Limit May Be Reduced

The drink-drive limit is expected to be nearly halved if proposals curently being considered are enacted.

Cutting the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg, combined with the current mandatory 12-month ban, would give the UK one of the toughest regimes in Europe.

Changing the limit, which has been in place since 1967, would still allow most people to have a single drink before driving.

The report is also expected to recommend scrapping rules which allow drivers close to the limit to insist on a blood or urine test at a police station.

Modern breathalysers carried by traffic police are much more accurate than ones previously used and the delay caused by driving a suspect to a police station can mean their alcohol level falls below the legal limit by the time the blood or urine test is carried out.

Another recommendation is likely to be for the police to be given powers to carry out random breath tests.

These powers do not exist at the moment, though in practice the police can use a combination of powers they do have to test virtually anyone they want to.

The review has also looked at how to address the problem of driving under the influence of drugs.

It was commissioned by the previous government, and presented to the new Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, last month.

(BMcC/GK)

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