but still wrecks lives ...

The present limit is too high and cannot be supported on scientific grounds. The risk of having an accident doubles at 50mg. and increases ninefold at 80mg.

Beneficial effects of reducing the limit have been reported for various states in Australia and USA.

Australia

Lowering the legal limit, combined with random breath testing, cut by 90% the number of drivers between 50mg. and 80mg. and by 41% the number of drivers caught driving over 150mg.

USA

States which reduced the legal limit to 80mg. compared with neighbouring states which retained 100mg. limit, experienced a 16% reduction in the proportion of fatal crashes with a fatally injured driver whose blood alcohol level was 80mg. or higher. There was an 18% reduction in such crashes with a fatally injured driver whose blood alcohol level was 150mg. or higher.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands which has had a 50mg. limit for over 20 years has a lower rate of alcohol related road deaths than the UK, 1 in 15 compared with 1 in 7. In 1995 the Netherlands had 87 alcohol related road deaths out of a total of 1,334 compared with the UK's 540 out of 3,621.

Young People

The US also provides evidence of the effectiveness of reducing the limit to zero or 20mg. for drivers under 21 years of age. The proportion of fatal night-time, single vehicle accidents declined by 17 - 22% in the under 21 age group in those States which introduced such a level compared with a 2% reduction in those States which had not lowered the limit for younger drivers.

Since a road accident with a raised blood alcohol level is a major cause of death for young people, the introduction of an even lower level of 20mg. for under 21's is desirable.

'Hard Core' Problem Drinkers

Detection of the "hardcore" of problem drinking drivers would be improved if the limit was lowered to 50mg. and rigidly enforced.

Both Australia and USA provide evidence that lowering the legal limit affects drivers at all blood alcohol levels. The USA lowering the limit appears to have had a greater effect on higher than lower blood alcohol levels.

The evidence suggests that the proportion of problem drinkers is the same in the range of 50 - 80 mg. and 80 - 150mg. Lowering the legal limit to 50mg. maximises the value of random breath testing for detecting problem drinkers.

Public Support

In the UK and throughout the EU the vast majority of the population supports a lower legal limit. Almost eight out of ten of the population supports a lower legal limit and almost 4 out of 10 would support a zero limit.

Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Sweden have a lower legal limit than the UK. The German Government have announced that they will introduce a low limit of 50mg. in 1998.

Whilst the number of people killed in drink related crashes has fallen substantially since 1983 from a peak of 35% of all drivers and riders with blood alcohol levels above the legal limit, it has never dropped to the level of 15% of total road deaths which was achieved during the first year of the operation of the Act.

Since the improvement over recent years has been stopped, a fresh impetus is required which could be achieved by lowering the legal limit and giving the police greater powers.

It is difficult to estimate the number of lives which would be saved by a lowering of the limit and increasing police powers. Given the evidence from other countries it could well be between 100 and 300 lives.

However, the beneficial effects of the original introduction of the breathalyser in 1967 were greatly underestimated. Barbara Castle, the Minister responsible, hoped that up to 200 lives would be saved: in fact it was over 1,000. At a luncheon to mark the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the breathalyser, Baroness Castle commented:

"I didn't know how many lives I would save when I introduced the breathalyser until we got the first year's figures. Then we were absolutely astonished."

... a lower limit is needed ...