Drink-Drive Limit Could Be Cut By A Third

Motorists could see the drink-drive limit in England and Wales cut for the first time in a generation after figures revealed deaths involving a drunk driver remained static.

Roads minister Andrew Jones is to hold talks with his Scottish counterpart to discuss cutting the limit to less than one glass of wine, bringing England and Wales in line with Scotland.

Responding to a parliamentary question, the minister told MPs: “I am intending to discuss with the Scottish minister the experience of the lower limit in Scotland and the timescales to get access to robust evidence of the road safety impact.

"It is important to base our decisions on evidence and the Scottish experience will be crucial to that before we consider any possible changes to limits in England and Wales.

"This Government’s current position, however, remains to focus resources on enforcing against the most serious offenders.”

It comes as data from the Department for Transport last week revealed 1,780 people died on Britain’s roads last year, an increase of 49 on 2014 and a rise of 3% compared to a 2.2% rise in traffic.

In 2014 there were 240 deaths on Britain’s roads which involved at least one driver being over the drink drive limit, representing about 14% of fatalities.

This was unchanged from 2013.

Currently, having more than 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood would make you a drunk driver in England and Wales.

In Scotland, that limit was reduced to 50mg in December 2014 bringing it in line with most other European countries.

The number of drink drive offences in Scotland fell by around 12% in the first year after the change.

A survey commissioned by the Scottish government suggested 82% of Scots thought any drinking before driving was unacceptable.

Drunk drivers currently face being banned from the roads for a year, and a fine or imprisonment, depending on the seriousness of the offence.