Scotland plans to reduce drink-driving limit

Scottish politicians are planning to reduce the country’s drink-driving limit in time for Christmas as figures reveal around one in 10 road deaths involve drivers who are over the legal limit.

The Scottish government hopes plans to reduce the country’s drink-driving limit will be approved

As reported by the BBC, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has proposed legislation to cut the blood alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood, lower than the 80mg limit in England.

Under the plan, which reflects laws in Northern Ireland and other parts of Europe, traffic police will to able to breathalyse drivers at the reduced limit over the festive period and beyond.

Some drivers who consume a glass of wine or pint of beer could be found to be over the new legal limit if the plans are approved by Scottish parliament.

The measures have been welcomes by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), however MacAskill said Westminster decided not to propose the same law to extend to England despite a “great deal of public support for it being lowered there”.

Latest research has suggested that just one alcoholic drink before driving can make you three times as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash, according to the BBC.

A public awareness campaign will warn drivers not to drink at all under the proposed measures.

Scottish Parliament voted in favour of lowering the drink-driving limit in 2012, but the implementation of the law was delayed by backlogs at Westminster.

Data released earlier this month showed that children as young as 11 have been caught drink-driving in the UK.