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24/08/2010
Calls to slash the drink-drive limit by more than a third are set to be rejected by ministers, according to the London Evening Standard.
The newspaper says that Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is primed to reject the recommendations of a recent independent report, which suggested that the current legal level of 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood be cut to 50mg.
Released in June, the review of the drink- and drug-driving law by legal scholar Sir Peter North recommended the reduction in order to bring the UK into line with much of Europe. If implemented, such a level would see an average man over the limit after just one pint of beer.
Lord Adonis, the previous transport secretary had intimated in March that he would consider such a move, but made clear he was waiting for the results of Sir Peter's review.
However, the Evening Standard reports an insider as saying that Mr Hammond is "very sceptical indeed about this idea", and adds that that the transport secretary is primed to reject the new level on account of the potential damage to rural pubs.
Basing its estimates on data from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the review estimated that the proposed new level of 50mg could result in several hundred fewer deaths on the road each year. Illustrating the effect that even a relatively small amount of alcohol can have, Sir Peter pointed out how a driver with a blood alcohol level between the proposed 50mg limit and the current 80mg limit is six times more likely to die on the roads than a non-drinking motorist.
The rumoured rejection of the lower level was criticised by the RAC Foundation, though the motoring charity suggested that "hardened offenders" - those who drink far in excess of the existing limit - would be unlikely to change their ways regardless of the limit.
Its director, Professor Stephen Glaister, said: "Drink-driving campaigns have been successful, but education alone has not been completely successful in eradicating what many see as anti-social behaviour."
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