RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
July 9, 2002
TOUGHER LAWS NEEDED TO BEAT DRINK-DRIVERS - RoSPA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents today backed the plea by a House of Lords committee to lower the drink-drive limit and called for extra efforts to beat the problem.
As well as a reduction in the limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg, RoSPA said there should be:
- Even lower limits for young motorists, as part of a graduated driver-licensing scheme
- Police powers to breath test anywhere and at any time
- Cheaper soft drinks in pubs to encourage drivers not to drink alcohol
- More imaginative sentencing, with greater emphasis placed on rehabilitation schemes and retesting
- More high-profile publicity campaigns to explain the reasons behind the proposed changes
The Society submitted evidence to the Lords’ European Union Sub-Committee on Energy, Industry and Transport on the drink-drive problem.
Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: “We are delighted the committee has accepted our arguments that the drink-drive limit should be reduced. Any amount of alcohol impairs a driver and increases the risk of an accident.
“The Government’s Road Safety Strategy estimates that reducing the limit in Great Britain to 50mg would save 50 lives and prevent 250 serious injuries and 1,200 slight injuries a year.
“A lower drink-drive limit would send out a general education message and would set the tone for no drinking and driving. Such a move has been successful in other countries and we cannot understand why the Government here has not supported the safety case for a lower limit.
“We have recently seen a rise in the drink-drive figures. Action needs to be taken now before things get worse.”
