Trade fears cut to drink-driving limit after sharp rise in offences

Fears that the drink-drive limit could be lowered have resurfaced after a sharp rise in drink-driving offences over Christmas and New Year.

Police figures released last week show the number of motorists caught drinking and driving over the festive period rose to eight per cent - an increase of nearly one per cent on the year before and the biggest rise for five years.

The news has devastated both the police and the trade who have been working to push the "don't drink and drive" message home with poster and television campaigns.

Now the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is calling on the Government to introduce a new package of measures, including cutting the drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

A spokesman for RoSPA said: "There are still too many people drinking and driving. We would like the limit to be as close to zero as possible."

Licensees fear such a cut would be devastating to trade and could even lead to the closure of many rural pubs.

A campaign by The Publican Newspaper in 1999 prompted 7,000 licensees and their customers to sign a petition against similar plans to cut the limit.

Plans for a cut were sidelined in 2000 following the campaign but ministers are once again under pressure to act.

Tony Powell licensee of the Plough in Wilmington, East Sussex, said his business would be badly hit if the Government decided to cut the limit.

"Over the years, lowering the drink-drive limit has affected the rural pub trade," he said. "If the Government cuts it again it's going to have to do something about the state of public transport and the price of taxis, otherwise no one will be able to get to our pubs."

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said there were no immediate plans to cut the limit but warned that younger drivers were increasingly to blame for a rise in drink-driving.

David Kenworthy, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said: "It is clear that despite considerable effort by Government, the police and other partners in road safety, there remains a substantial core of persistent drink-drive offenders, willing to put their own and other's lives at risk."

Jean Coussins, director of drinks watchdog The Portman Group, said the answer was for the police and licensees to work together to raise awareness of the issue.

"Our 'I'll be Des' (designated driver) campaign is helping this process not just at Christmas but all year round," she said.

In some areas the picture was brighter, Greater Manchester Police reported drink-driving down two per cent on last year. A police spokesman said its success was due to an extensive "I'll be Des" campaign, which was encouraged all year round.

Related stories:​