The SNP-led Scottish Government plans to introduce a lower drink drive limit for Scotland before the festive period. At Holyrood members of the Justice Committee have recommended that the Parliament approve an order which will bring the reduced limit into effect on December 5. This would mean that the blood alcohol limit will be lowered from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg in every 100ml of blood, bringing Scotland into line with most of Europe.
Three quarters of those who responded to a Scottish Government consultation agreed that the drink drive limit should be reduced. A multi-media marketing campaign to inform the public of the new lower limit will be launched in the coming weeks. The Scottish Government points out that it does not have the powers to change the penalties for drink driving; this is reserved to the UK Government.
The SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “We are now a step closer to bringing in a lower drink drive limit for Scotland, making our roads safer and saving lives. You are six times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident between the present limit and the planned new lower level compared with having no alcohol in your system.
“The latest estimates show around one in 10 deaths on our roads involve drivers over the legal limit. This is about changing people’s behaviour. All the evidence from countries such as Ireland show that a lower limit actually reduces the number of convictions, as more people get the message that you should never drink and drive.”
