Doctors call on Wales to slash drink-drive limit

Mar 10 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

SENIOR doctors are calling for Wales to take the lead in a campaign to slash the legal drink-driving limit.

The British Medical Association Cymru wants Wales to head a nationwide call to lower the blood alcohol limit from 80mg/100ml to 50mg.

Although Wales does not have the law-making powers to lower this limit, doctors hope cross-party political and public support will put pressure on Westminster to change the law.

Dr Richard Lewis, the BMA’s Welsh secretary, said he hoped Wales would take a similar stand on drink-driving as it had on smoking in public places.

Wales was the first country to vote for a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in the UK, although the legislation did not come into force until last year – after Scotland had introduced its ban but before Northern Ireland and England.

BMA Cymru now hopes that Wales can put similar pressure on Westminster to bring the UK into line with the rest of Europe.

It is estimated that cutting the blood alcohol level to 50mg will save 65 lives and result in 250 fewer serious injuries every year.

Dr Lewis said, “Although the only safe option for drivers must be don’t drink then drive, having a 50mg limit is simpler for drinkers to understand.

“The current level is complex – it is difficult for people to work out what they can drink, dependent on body size, gender, age and whether food is consumed.

“One pub measure of alcohol is all that would be allowed and more people will comply with that as it would be easier to understand.

“There is really no excuse for keeping the level at 80mg – nearly every country in Europe has a 50mg or lower limit and the UK needs to follow this lead.

“Every death represents a family tragedy and every serious injury can be devastating for the person involved and their relatives.”

Despite higher profile campaigns about the risks associated with drink driving, which are run before Christmas and in the summer, large numbers of UK drivers continue to fail breath tests.

Of the 34,160 UK drivers tested between December 10 and 16 last year, a total of 1,356 – or 4% – were over the legal limit, according to figures from Tispol, the European traffic police network.

The European average of drivers over the alcohol limit was 2.5% – an increase on the Europe-wide average of 2.1% recorded in December 2006.

As he launched last year’s Christmas drink-drive message, Giles York, assistant chief constable of South Wales Police, said, “On average, 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year in the UK in drink-drive collisions.

“Yet, last Christmas nearly 600 Welsh motorists still lost their driving licence because they took their own lives, and other innocent lives, into their hands.

“Statistics show the 17 to 24 age group makes the mistake of thinking they can get away with drink-driving.”

BMA Cymru has said it will not campaign for a zero blood alcohol limit, because using mouth wash and diabetes can both cause an above zero reading.

The UK government said it was “minded” to lower the drink-drive limit in 1998. A European Commission recommendation for a harmonisation of 50mg or less in 2001 was not binding on member states, and the government said, in 2002, that it had no plans to change the drink-drive limit.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokeswoman said, “The Assembly Government is already committed, through its substance misuse strategy Working Together to Reduce Harm, to press for a reduction in the drink-drive limit as well as better enforcement of the limit, together with other measures such as stricter rules on the promotion of alcohol and an increase in taxation.

“We will study the BMA’s views carefully in this context.”