Scotland Moves To Slash Drink-Drive Limit

Under proposals due to reach the Scottish Parliament in the next few weeks drinking a pint or a single glass of wine could soon put you over the legal driving limit.

At the moment it would take more than 80mg of alcohol in the bloodstream per 100ml to make you a drunk driver, under the new proposals the Scottish Government wants to reduce that to 50mg. The move would bring Scotland into line with Germany, France and Spain. However it would create a situation where crossing the Scottish border after consuming one drink could lead to a drink-driving conviction, when you would have been driving legally in England.

The proposals have been welcomed by many families of those injured or killed by drunk drivers. Stacey Muldoon, a 23-year-old mother from Lanarkshire, was killed in 2008. Her sister, Leigh Payne, believes lowering the limit will prevent many other deaths. "We're coming into line with most of Europe and some of America. I think that people will now realise that it's not acceptable to have a drink . Physically ordering a drink and drinking it with your dinner you cannot do with 50mg."

Thirty people are killed on Scottish roads each year as a result of alcohol, 150 are injured and almost 7,500 people are convicted of drink-driving. The Scottish Government says lowering the limit is a priority. Yet it has been two years since it first consulted on the issue and, as a devolved matter, it does not require legislative action by Westminster. The Scottish Government said it hopes to introduce a bill affecting the change some time in August.
A spokesperson said: "We are working with Police Scotland and the UK Government to prepare for a lower limit, including obtaining the necessary type approvals for the devices used by the police to test drivers.
"As a lower limit cannot be brought in until the necessary approvals are obtained through the UK Government, we have made clear to the UK Government that we view introducing a lower limit in Scotland as a key priority which we want to introduce as soon as possible."