New call made over drink-drive limit

New call made over drink-drive limit

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has backed Scotland's decision to lower its drink-drive limit and urged other nations in the UK to consider doing the same.

RoSPA has long campaigned to reduce the legal level of alcohol per 100 ml of blood from 80 MG to 50 MG, as the charity believes that this could lead to an initial reduction in the number of people dying on roads in England and Wales of between 77 and 168 a year.

By the sixth year of any change, this could increase to 300 lives being saved annually, it believes.

"It's important to remember, however, that any change in the law would have to be accompanied by a campaign to ensure the public understood how a lower limit might affect their lifestyle," said Tom Mullarkey, the group's chief executive.

Although many vehicles like family saloon cars and super minis are safer than ever before, reducing road traffic accidents is still a priority for police forces across the country.

Brake, which also wants the legal alcohol limit lowered, reports that last year's Christmas period coincided with 7,200 drink driving arrests in England and Wales.