Drink-Driving Limit To Be Reduced

by Katy Murcutt - Paralegal

16 June 2010, filed under Motoring

An independent review of the drink-driving limit is expected to recommend that the current limit ought to be halved.
It has been anticipated that by halving the UKs currently accepted drink-driving limit, a projected saving of nearly 200 lives could be made. The current legal limit of alcohol in the body is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milligrams of blood. The proposed changes would see the ratio of alcohol per 100 milligrams of blood reduce to 50 milligrams, just over half the current legal limit.

If these proposed changes to motoring are put into force, the changes would bring the UK into line with the majority of Europe. However, due to the penalty regimes already in place, the UK would have one of the most hard-hitting systems in place in Europe.

There are numerous factors that shall be considered, including the strength and size of the alcoholic drinks that are available, as well as external factors such as the impact an individuals metabolism and body mass index (BMI) may have on the result of a standard breathalyzer test. Further to this, the speed at which alcohol is consumed and the length of time that has passed since the individual last consumed an alcoholic drink can directly influence the results of the breathalyzer test in regard to what is acceptable.

Many police forces throughout the United Kingdom have stated that while a zero tolerance to alcohol consumption and driving would be ideal, this would not be able to function in reality. There are many factors involved, and it is likely that the method of social control used should not be to amend the current drink-driving limit, but to implement harsher penalties for those caught over the legal drink-driving limit.

It is also anticipated that the report will include recommendations to amend the current ruling that allows drivers close to the legal limit to request a urine or blood test at a local police station. This rule was initially brought in as a tool to confirm a breathalyzers findings as these apparatus had not always been as accurate as ones used by traffic police today. Under the new report, random breath tests will be recommended to be undertaken by police.

The current legal drink-driving limit has been in place since 1967. Despite the high limit currently in place, the UK has the lowest recorded number of drink-driving offences in the whole of Europe.

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