The UK Government is looking to fall in line with the rest of the EU by reducing the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers. The current limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood which would allow the consumption of roughly a pint and a half of medium strength lager for an average sized man. The proposed limit would bring it down to 50mg per 100ml of blood is less than an average pint or a large glass of wine but would match the legal limit in the European Union.

430 people were killed as a result of drink driving last year according to Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, however this figure does not reflect any figures that of fatalities where drivers were above the lower limit. He also suggests drug-driving is a key concern for the public.

The current UK laws mean that anyone found driving over the legal limit faces an automatic 12 month driving ban but there is current investigation by Sir Peter North QC into the possibilities of introducing a second, lower penalty for anyone above the lower limit such as 6 points on a driving licence. Changes could also see prosecutions for drivers found with illegal drugs in their bloodstream, regardless of whether it impaired their performance.

Insurers also concurred with the decision, Edmund King, president of the AA remarked that “the legal issue is more complex than the limit as a sliding scale of penalties could reduce the deterrent effect. There is a serious problem with drink drive repeat offenders with recent figures suggesting that almost a quarter of drink drivers have served a previous ban.”

AA President, Edmund King agreed, “the legal issue is more complex than the limit as a sliding scale of penalties could reduce the deterrent effect. There is a serious problem with drink drive repeat offenders with recent figures suggesting that almost a quarter of drink drivers have served a previous ban.”

The proposal was not met amicably by everyone Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations. “We will fight this very very strongly,” he said. “This will penalise responsible people because of the behaviour of some idiots.

Thousands of drivers each year are convicted of a drink driving offence but even more are convicted, with lower penalties, of a speeding offence, something that causes many more fatalities each year.

For information on Auto Shipping visit MetroGistics.