Unlimited outrage

A call for changes to the drink-drive rules has angered rural publicans, especially as this year's figures were an improvement on previous years.​Earlier this month Richard Brunstrom, head of road policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) and chief constable of North Wales, called for the legal drink-drive limit to be lowered. He wants to see a drop from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. This followed a slight year-on-year percentage increase in the number of positive breathalyser tests following accidents during the festive period.It's just as well this isn't The Sun and Richard Littlejohn isn't around, because this could have turned into a bit of a rant. Chief Constable Brunstrom is a figure of hate for Mr Littlejohn. The Sun columnist and Sky TV presenter has even coined the charming nickname "Mad Mullah" for him, on account of how many motorists he likes to "nick" while at the same time allegedly ignoring other crimes in his North Wales patch. While this reporter doesn't like to indulge in such ranting, it seems that the chief constable may have gone a little over the top in this instance.ACPO released the latest drink-driving figures on January 7 and Chief Constable Brunstrom said: "I believe that it is time the government followed the European Commission recommendation of a lower blood alcohol limit of 50mg and extended police powers to enable the use of intelligence and prosecute offenders." Targeting drink-driving is one thing, but this statement flies in the face of overwhelming evidence, provided in the same report, that drink-driving instances during the 2003-04 Christmas and New Year period actually fell.The total number of injury collisions over the two-week period between December 18 2003 and January 2 2004 was 5,002, 4.58 per cent less than last year. The total number of breath tests administered in collisions reported by police was 11,622 - 6.29 per cent less than last year - and drink-related collisions fell by 4.17 per cent, a quarter of the number recorded in 1997.This is good news for the trade and campaigns such as The Portman Group's "I'll be Des" initiative, which has tried to push the responsible drink-drive message. Drink-driving needs to be consistently targeted, and if this year's figures showed little or no improvement on previous years' figures then a call for change in the drink-drive limit could well have been justified. But Chief Constable Brunstrom's call for change, which was supported by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), is simply not backed up by the results from his own organisation.The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) is not convinced by calls for a change in the limit. Spokesman Mark Hastings says the gloom and doom headlines used by the national newspapers earlier this month are misplaced. "This strikes me as a good news story - the message is getting through. The real story of the festive drink-drive figures is: fewer accidents, fewer injuries and fewer drink-drive offenders," he says. "In 2003-04 there were 1,036 drink-drive offenders compared to 1,080 offenders last year. That is a fall of four per cent. It certainly does not support ACPO and ROSPA's call for a reduction in the drink-drive limit."Licensee Pete Harrison believes dropping the drink-drive limit will have little effect and only serve to penalise rural pubs. Mr Harrison, who runs the Unicorn in Leek, Staffordshire, but was previously licensee of a rural pub in a South Derbyshire village, said: "Public transport doesn't exist in rural areas. You have to use a car. People in the countryside don't believe in the police anymore, they haven't got a clue what's going on. "Lowering the drink-drive limit will not stop people drink-driving. Even if there is zero tolerance, there are some people out there who refuse to believe they will get caught. There has to be another way."The BBPA believes random breath testing is the best way forward as it will toughen enforcement. Currently the police can only breathalyse a driver if there is reasonable cause to suspect them of driving under the influence. John Longden, who heads up the Pub is Hub campaign which seeks to halt the falling number of pubs and services in local communities, believes the improvement of rural facilities will help both pubs and drink-driving statistics. He said: "If there are increased services in the villages then it will encourage more people to stay in the villages rather than go off in their cars to post a letter or do their shopping. That will improve a pub's business but it will also reduce the amount of traffic on countryside roads."ACPO figures for December 18 2003 - January 2 2004​