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Survey shows widespread support for “tougher drink-driving controls” for young motorists (19 May 2015)

Date: 19/05/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Survey shows widespread support for “tougher drink-driving controls” for young motorists

A new survey by insurance group Direct Line has found that many adults feel drink-drive limits should be lower for young and novice motorists.

The current permitted alcohol limit for drivers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Scotland has lowered the limit to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The Daily Mail reports that out of 2,002 adults questioned, half said the limit should be either lower or zero for young drivers or for those who have just passed their test.

There was more support for a zero tolerance limit in northeast England (43% in favour) and Scotland (39% in favour).

However, adults in southeast England were the least in favour of a zero tolerance alcohol limit for young and novice drivers (25% in favour).

In Northern Ireland, a total of 49% were keen to see a zero tolerance alcohol limit for all motorists. However, in northeast England and London, just 32% supported reducing the alcohol limit to zero for motorists.

The researchers found that 14% (one in seven) were in favour of the current alcohol limit for drivers.

Direct Line motor director Gus Park said:

“England, Wales and Northern Ireland boast one of the most permissive driver blood-alcohol concentration limits in Europe – but there is widespread popular support for lowering this, especially for young and novice motorists.

”With many other European nations adopting a zero-tolerance approach to drink-driving and Scotland reducing the legal drink-drive limit by over a third in December, it may only be a matter of time before the rest of the union introduces tougher drink-driving controls.”

New figures from the RAC Foundation released last week also show that teenage drivers and their passengers may face a higher risk of injury and death on the roads.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister has said that new figures on road traffic accidents involving teenage motorists show a need for the introduction of a “graduated driving licence”, which would limit night-time driving as well as the number of young passengers in a vehicle at any one time.

RAC figures show that a total of 49 teenage drivers aged 17 to 19 were killed in car accidents in 2013 and 433 were seriously injured.

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