Wednesday 1st March 2000

IAS Condemns Delay in Tackling Drink Driving

Responding to the Government's White Paper on road safety, the IAS said that while it was delighted the Government still intends to lower the legal alcohol limit, it was dismayed by its delay in actually introducing this and other measures.

The IAS said:

".There is no valid reason against introducing a lower limit immediately. The Government's claim that the cause of the delay is the prospect of a harmonised limit throughout the European Union is no more than an excuse. Ironically, the Commission is currently reported to be taking the line that the legal limit is a matter for the individual Member States, and whatever the state of play in the EU may be, it hasn't stopped Belgium, France and Germany from lowering their limits."

On other aspects of the White Paper, the IAS said:

"The Government has been reviewing its strategy against drinking and driving for the last two years. Why does there now need to be another review to consider the legal penalties for the offence? In any case, the main new measure proposed - doubling the period of disqualification for first time high risk offenders from one to two years - is bogus. The sentencing guidelines issued to magistrates already give two years disqualification as the appropriate penalty for offenders convicted at more than twice the current legal limit."

The IAS concluded:

"The Government's main idea in relation to drink driving appears to be to delay taking any real action for as long as possible. There has been too much delay already. According to the Government's own figures, the two years it has taken to review the drink drive limit rather than actually reducing it has already cost around 100 lives. The Government knows what it should do: it's time it got on with it."