Police Federation calls for tougher drink driving laws

The body said it was particularly concerned about the number of women drink driving and that warnings to female drivers are not “getting through.”

However, ALMR chief executive Kate Nicholls warned that changing the limit may not necessarily lead to fewer accidents on the roads.

Nicholls said: “The Police Federation has stated that warnings regarding drink driving are not getting through to certain sections of the populace. In that case, a more fruitful plan of attack might be to increase public awareness of the current limit and to focus on engagement and enforcement rather than new legislation.

 “Almost two thirds of drivers and riders killed on our roads, exceeding the alcohol limit, were over twice the legal limit. We need to focus on reaching and tackling those individuals who continually flout the law, drinking to excess and endangering lives. Decreasing the drink drive limit is unlikely to affect this small number of problem drivers who continually drink to the risk of getting caught, rather than the legal limit.

 “A concerted effort to increase public awareness of current schemes, rather than a changing of the rules, is perhaps the best course of action, rather than a cursory lowering of the limit which is unlikely to tackle the root of the problem.”

Figures from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association revealed that two-thirds of Scottish venues had suffered a dramatic decline in like-for-like sales since the introduction of tougher drink driving laws.

Greene King blamed the new Scottish legislation as a factor for a difficult second half of the financial year.