WHEN Scotland’s lower drink-driving limit was introduced at the beginning of December 2014, the expectation was that the number of drivers caught over the limit would increase, particularly as the new law coincided with the launch of Police Scotland’s festive drink-driving campaign, when there are traditionally more risk-takers behind the wheel.
In fact, the opposite happened and, in the first week of the new limit, there was a 30 per cent drop in the number of motorists caught drink driving. It was a sign that, in the face of new rules that meant even a single pint of beer or glass of wine risked taking you over the limit, drivers were opting not to take the risk. It also looked like the Scottish Government’s campaign to make the public aware of the new limit was working.
Two years on, the latest figures make it harder to be so confident that the new limit really represents a profound change in drink-driving behaviour. The figures show that between December 2 and January 2, 625 drivers, or 1 in 30 of those stopped, were over the limit. Forty-six of those who were caught had been drinking the night before.
The figures do not change the fact that drink driving has significantly reduced over the decades or that the Government did the right thing in cutting the limit to 50mg per 100ml of blood from 80mg. But Christmas 2016 is the first time there has been a rise in drink-driving since the new laws were introduced and it is a worrying development.
Toughening the law even further is not an option – the fact that there are traces of alcohol in some foods and medication would make an even lower limit unworkable. But it is clear some drivers need reminding of what the new limits actually mean in practice: wines, spirits and beers vary so much in strength that no level of drinking – not even a single pint or glass of wine – is worth the risk before driving.
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