In latest news (June 2024), the British Medical Association (BMA) have developed a consensus statement to reduce the drink-drive limit in England by almost half for most drivers, with a strict limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. A new hard limit of 20mg is also being proposed for commercial drivers and newly qualified motorists.
To read the full consensus statement from the BMA, please click here.
England and Wales currently have the highest drink-drive limits in the UK. Over 200 people are killed per year due to drink-drive related collisions, and many more seriously injured. Concerningly, alcohol and drug related deaths were at a record high in 2021 and 2022.
IAM RoadSmart supports calls for a reduced legal limit for alcohol when driving, and have maintained that ‘none for the road’ is always the best policy. This is because the volume of alcohol required to be over the drink-drive limit varies from person to person, depending on several factors including weight, gender, age, metabolism, and stress levels.
In a recent campaign, IAM RoadSmart calculated the true cost of being caught driving over the limit to be £70,000. The total takes into account fines, legal fees, higher car insurance premiums, alternative transport costs and potential loss of salary following conviction.
IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes said: “The number of people killed on our roads where at least one driver was over the limit has remained stubbornly high for over a decade. Cutting the drink-drive limit would be a positive step forward in reducing road casualties but we also need to see an increased emphasis on re-training. Evidence suggests that those who take a drink-drive rehabilitation course in the UK are two-and-a-half times less likely to reoffend.”
Driving is an essential part of so many job roles, that the loss of one’s licence could be catastrophic. To maximise safety for business drivers, IAM RoadSmart offers online fleet risk management, virtual classroom learning sessions, and one to one in-car training. To find out how we can advance the safety of your drivers, please get in touch.
