77% would lower drink-drive limit, survey reveals ahead of Lords debate
The House of Lords is set to debate a private member's bill that proposes lowering the blood-alcohol limit from 80mg alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg.
According to the Alcohol Health Alliance, a group that includes Alcohol Concern, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs, 77% of the British public would support a lower drink-drive limit.
Scotland lowered its drink-driving limit to 50mg per 100ml of blood in 2014. However, trade bodies have consistently warned that the changes are ‘significantly’ damaging Scottish pubs.
In a state-of-the-nation survey, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association found 55% of all outlets surveyed showed a decline in like-for-like sales in 2015 when compared to 2014.
CAMRA Pub of the Year winner Peter Tiley, who runs the Salutation Inn in Ham, Gloucestershire, wrote to Prime Minster David Cameron earlier this month arguing that his pub might not survive if the limit was lowered and claiming that the changes would have a “disproportionately negative impact on our rural pubs and communities”.
He wrote: “Without a pub for people in rural areas to socialise in, we might expect to see an increase in people drinking cheap alcohol at home, without the watchful eye of a licensed publican to ensure alcohol is consumed responsibly.”
Tiley told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser he has yet to receive a response
