Will the Coalition Government lower the drink drive limit?

The Coalition government has chosen to delay making a decision on whether or not to accept the recommendations of the Review of Drink and Drug Driving Law undertaken by Sir Peter North. The Review, commissioned by the previous Labour Government, recommends lowering the present drink drive blood alcohol limit from 80mg% to 50mg% and, in regard to enforcement, amending the law to give police an unrestricted power to require anyone driving a vehicle on the public highway to give a preliminary breath test. At present, while police can stop any driver at random, they can only require the driver to take a breath test if he or she has committed a moving traffic offence, or been involved in an accident or if there is a specific reason that he or she has been drinking.

The North Review considered but rejected the option of lowering the blood alcohol limit to 20mg%. While the Review accepted the evidence that a driver who has a blood alcohol level of between 20mg% and 50mg% is at least three times more likely to die in a road traffic accident than a driver who is completely sober, it concluded that a sudden reduction in the limit from 80mg% to 20mg% could have a detrimental effect on the currently high level of public support for and compliance with drink drive legislation in the UK. Lowering the limit to 20mg% would necessitate drastically reducing the severity of the penalty for the offence of drink driving, and this could dilute the effectiveness of the current approach for little gain in terms of tackling the drink drive problem.

However, the Review concluded that these objections do not apply to the introduction of a 50mg% limit which, the Review estimates, could save tens or even hundreds of lives each year.

The Review also rejected the option of a lower legal alcohol limit for specific groups of drivers such as drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) and novice or young drivers. The main reason for rejecting the idea of a lower limit for HGV, taxi and private hire drivers was the relative lack of propensity of these drivers to drink and drive, compared with the general population, and the fact that such drivers already face higher penalties from the courts and also from their employers. A lower limit for young drivers could appear discriminatory, and in any case, roadside enforcement would be difficult, given that, as there is no statutory requirement for drivers to carry their driving licence with them, police could find it difficult to tell to which age group they belonged.

Industry opposition to a lower limit

It is clear from submissions made to the North Review that the hospitality, entertainment and leisure industries are still opposing any reduction of the present legal blood alcohol limit for drivers on the basis that it would have a detrimental impact, particularly on country pubs. The North Review, however, decided that reducing the limit to 50mg% would, of itself, have a widespread detrimental impact on the sector, and that, indeed, providing further encouragement for people to drink at home could have beneficial consequences for much of the industry. The Review states that a 50mg% limit is not a zero tolerance approach, and that its introduction would not, therefore, deter those customers the trade is most concerned about, those who consume modest amounts of alcohol to accompany a meal in a pub or restaurant.

Government Response

It may well be, however, that commercial and economic, as distinct from road safety, considerations will weigh heavily with the Government. Responding to the Review, The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond) said:

“This report covers a wide range of issues and makes 51 detailed recommendations, which we need to consider carefully with other Government departments. In doing so, it is important that we fully investigate the economic and public service resource impact of any suggested changes to the law, taking account of the current financial and economic situation.”

Drop in drink drive casualties

The Department for Transport has published provisional statistics on road accidents reported to police involving drinking and driving in Great Britain in 2009, which show a reduction in the numbers of killed and injured as a result of drink driving compared with the previous year. The figures show that:

Fatalities resulting from drink and drive accidents fell by 5% from 400 in 2008 to 380 in 2009, whilst seriously injured casualties fell by 9% from 1, 620 to 1,480. Slight casualties resulting from drink drive accidents fell by 8% from 10,960 to 10,130. Total casualties fell by 8% from 12,990 to 11,990

Fatal accidents remained unchanged from 2008, remaining at 350 for the second year in a row. Overall drink and drive accidents fell by 7% from 8,620 to 8,050

Rise in number of petrol stations selling alcohol

The reduction in drink drive casualties was achieved despite a growth in the number of petrol stations licensed to sell alcohol in England and Wales. Sales of alcohol from petrol stations have been a recurrent issue in the alcohol policy debate for some time. Alcohol control advocates have always argued that such sales are inappropriate given the obvious incompatibility of drinking with driving. While English and Welsh licensing law normally prohibits the granting of alcohol licences to garages and petrol stations, there is a get-out clause in the legislation which permits such premises to sell alcohol so long as their ‘primary purpose’ is not the selling of petrol. The practice of setting up convenience stores at petrol stations has permitted the proprietors to claim that it is the store which is the primary activity, with petrol sales being of secondary importance.

A survey undertaken by Alcohol Concern Wales found that a third of petrol stations in the principality were licensed to sell alcohol, with two of the premises licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours per day.

Alcohol Concern Cymru makes the following recommendations:

It should be a mandatory requirement that drink-drive warnings be displayed at the point of sale at all petrol stations where alcohol is also available for purchase. Such warnings would serve to support ongoing awareness-raising campaigns concerning the dangers of drinking and driving

It should be a condition that any petrol station applying for an alcohol licence must be able to demonstrate that it will either buy-in, or provide themselves, thorough training for staff on responsible alcohol sales practices

A review of the effectiveness of bans on alcohol sales from petrol stations, and alternative measures undertaken in other countries, should be undertaken to inform discussions about the appropriateness of equivalent measures being implemented in England and Wales

In recognition of the growth of alcohol as a public health issue, and in order to enable licensing authorities to properly address this, the protection and improvement of public health must be established as a fifth criterion within the Licensing Act 2003 for assessing license applications, including those from petrol stations

The drink-driving blood alcohol limit in England and Wales should be reduced from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml, in line with the North Review, on the grounds that drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident the higher their blood alcohol level. This should be accompanied by greater publicity on penalties and highly visible enforcement.