Scotland cuts drink-drive alcohol limit

[Still Waters]

A new law has come into force which makes the legal drink-drive limit in Scotland lower than elsewhere in the UK.

The change reduces the legal alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.

It means that a driver could leave England under the legal alcohol limit but find they are breaking the law once they pass over the border into Scotland.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otland-30329743

[spud the mackem]

People will drink and drive no matter what the limit, they should make it Zero tolerance. I regularly pass Country pubs tucked away down back roads and always see more than a dozen cars parked at any one Pub.

[+and-then]

People will drink and drive no matter what the limit, they should make it Zero tolerance. I regularly pass Country pubs tucked away down back roads and always see more than a dozen cars parked at any one Pub.

It is a hypocritical arrangement between law enforcement and business. Here the police will not arrest people coming out of bars (typically). They wait and pull them over away from their watering hole. Can't do anything to stunt the tax base!

[Eldorado]

Apologies for straying off-topic. And ranting.

I'd take my government seriously about their fight against the drink (the sourge of Scotland) if they closed the bars at their own HQ and barred drunkard politicians from taking part in Parliamentary business.

(drunk leaders are only good if it's wartime and he is Winston Churchill)

Back on topic... they'll be fining folk with hangovers if it gets any lower.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Eldorado

[stevewinn]

make the law easy to understand and enforce right across the kingdom, have a zero drink drive limit. everyone knows the limit then no excuses - The pub trade is dying on its knees - Pubs are shutting down all over the manor these days.

[skookum]

Changing the law now will have zero effect.

Drink driving is very frowned on and I think the vast majority have the message loud and clear. In my mind you have two types of drink driver. The persistent alcoholic who ignores the law praying they will not get caught and the person who makes a foolish mistake on a spare of the moment decision.

What really needs tackling is drug driving. I have met loads of people who say they will have a joint or two and then get behind the wheel. They know there is virtually zero chance of them getting caught and prosecuted. You even see it on the cop programs when they pull a car over that reeks of cannabis, After a short search and maybe a street caution they are allowed to carry on on their merry way without any tests to see if they are even fit to drive.

This is worryingly ignored.

[Peter B]

Changing the law now will have zero effect.

Are you sure? Reducing the limit from 0.08 to 0.05 and introducing random breath testing has seen a huge reduction in road deaths in Australia.

Drink driving is very frowned on and I think the vast majority have the message loud and clear. In my mind you have two types of drink driver. The persistent alcoholic who ignores the law praying they will not get caught and the person who makes a foolish mistake on a spare of the moment decision.

At what level is breath testing of drivers in Scotland? In New South Wales there are something like 4.5 million Random Breath Tests a year, in a state with only 5.5 million drivers. Advertising campaigns reinforce the likelihood of drunk drivers getting caught.

What really needs tackling is drug driving. I have met loads of people who say they will have a joint or two and then get behind the wheel. They know there is virtually zero chance of them getting caught and prosecuted. You even see it on the cop programs when they pull a car over that reeks of cannabis, After a short search and maybe a street caution they are allowed to carry on on their merry way without any tests to see if they are even fit to drive.

This is worryingly ignored.

Drug testing has started in at least some states in Australia, and it's showing that same trend. I agree that it's dangerous to be sharing the road with people affected by drugs, but it also has to be said that our roads are much safer than they were 30 years ago.

[Peter B]

It is a hypocritical arrangement between law enforcement and business. Here the police will not arrest people coming out of bars (typically). They wait and pull them over away from their watering hole. Can't do anything to stunt the tax base!

Do you have random breath testing, or can police only pull over drivers who appear to be impaired?

The advantages of RBT are that it's socially acceptable - most sober drivers don't mind being pulled over for a test if it means that drunk drivers are more likely to be caught - and it's impartial: the coppers simply set up a testing location and pull over a group of cars and test everyone, then pull over another group, and so on. If you're sober you're usually on your way within a minute.

[skookum]

Are you sure? Reducing the limit from 0.08 to 0.05 and introducing random breath testing has seen a huge reduction in road deaths in Australia.

At what level is breath testing of drivers in Scotland? In New South Wales there are something like 4.5 million Random Breath Tests a year, in a state with only 5.5 million drivers. Advertising campaigns reinforce the likelihood of drunk drivers getting caught.

Drug testing has started in at least some states in Australia, and it's showing that same trend. I agree that it's dangerous to be sharing the road with people affected by drugs, but it also has to be said that our roads are much safer than they were 30 years ago.

I think the UK has done very well without a change in the limits.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/drinkdriving-deaths-fall-to-alltime-low-2087890.html

In 2010 there were only 380 deaths, what out of 65 million people. Ok the argument will always be that one death is one too many. However in reality it will not happen unless technology gets to a level to force ably stop somebody under the influence driving.

[keithisco]

I strongly agree with a Zero level of alcohol. If you plan on going out then go somewhere within walking distance, or use a Taxi service - and plan your expenditure accordingly. Surely this is not difficult?

[MissMelsWell]

Our limit here is .08, however, you can still be cited for as little as .02, and I know folks that's happened to.

I am not a drinker by any stretch of the imagination, however, I do enjoy a beer now and again, and I have a very active social life, much of which takes place in pubs and music venues. Years ago I resigned myself to the fact that I AM the driver, I do not drink. There has been the time or two where I've had two beers over the course of 4 or more hours, and have driven home, and frankly, I was acutely aware that I shouldn't have been. I HATE that feeling. Just two beers can put me in that state even consumed over a long period of time.

I really just have to be careful of the alcohol content of the beers I'm drinking. Fortunately or unfortunately, my state has no alcohol content limit on liquor. I can distinctly remember one night I had two porter ales over about 4 hours, felt fine, got in my car and jumped on the freeway and realized I was in NO condition to be driving. I FREAKED out and drove about 6 miles, and jumped off the expressway and went to my office building at 2am and sat at my desk for 2 hours before driving the remaining 6 miles home. LOL. Turns out, those two beers were 12.7% alcohol EACH per 8ozs, I was drinking from 16oz glasses. For me, that's WELL over my limit. Unfortunately no one warned me that those delicious porters were so high in alcohol. Being as conscious as I am about drinking and driving I wish two things... I wish that alcohol content was more clearly labeled on tap beers, and I wish there was a way to measure my BAC BEFORE I leave the bar.

Oh, and I only WISH I could plan for a taxi... unfortunately, a taxi would cost me around $100 per night around here to get to and back, and that's assuming the taxi would even show up in the first place. We have a real late night transportation problem in this city.

Edited December 7, 2014 by MissMelsWell

[Likely Guy]

Our limit here is .08, however, you can still be cited for as little as .02, and I know folks that's happened to.

I am not a drinker by any stretch of the imagination, however, I do enjoy a beer now and again, and I have a very active social life, much of which takes place in pubs and music venues. Years ago I resigned myself to the fact that I AM the driver, I do not drink. There has been the time or two where I've had two beers over the course of 4 or more hours, and have driven home, and frankly, I was acutely aware that I shouldn't have been. I HATE that feeling. Just two beers can put me in that state even consumed over a long period of time.

I really just have to be careful of the alcohol content of the beers I'm drinking. Fortunately or unfortunately, my state has no alcohol content limit on liquor. I can distinctly remember one night I had two porter ales over about 4 hours, felt fine, got in my car and jumped on the freeway and realized I was in NO condition to be driving. I FREAKED out and drove about 6 miles, and jumped off the expressway and went to my office building at 2am and sat at my desk for 2 hours before driving the remaining 6 miles home. LOL. Turns out, those two beers were 12.7% alcohol EACH per 8ozs, I was drinking from 16oz glasses. For me, that's WELL over my limit. Unfortunately no one warned me that those delicious porters were so high in alcohol. Being as conscious as I am about drinking and driving I wish two things... I wish that alcohol content was more clearly labeled on tap beers, and I wish there was a way to measure my BAC BEFORE I leave the bar.

Oh, and I only WISH I could plan for a taxi... unfortunately, a taxi would cost me around $100 per night around here to get to and back, and that's assuming the taxi would even show up in the first place. We have a real late night transportation problem in this city.

Two very important points. Thank you. Why couldn't there be a breath analyzer in every pub? Also, I live in a remote location where there are no taxis or buses. Thankfully, I live about 100 metres from the pub so I don't usually have a problem. Some of my friends, not so much.

[+Hammerclaw]

I'll have to pour a glass of Glenlivet and ponder this.

[keithisco]

Two very important points. Thank you. Why couldn't there be a breath analyzer in every pub? Also, I live in a remote location where there are no taxis or buses. Thankfully, I live about 100 metres from the pub so I don't usually have a problem. Some of my friends, not so much.

Just for information: In France it is a legal requirement to carry a breathalyser in your car, they are cheap to buy and every car has one. Good idea IMO

[skookum]

I strongly agree with a Zero level of alcohol. If you plan on going out then go somewhere within walking distance, or use a Taxi service - and plan your expenditure accordingly. Surely this is not difficult?

Zero alcohol could be problematic. The human body naturally produces alcohol and like everything one person differs from another. I fear it could become like the infamous American drug tests where innocent people tested positive for Opium because they had consumed Poppy seeds on bagels.

The real problem in the UK is the volume of alcohol consumed. The police have now taken to testing people in the morning as they are far more likely to get a bust than at night. A tweet went round in West Sussex from the police saying something like we have one in custody and we will be out tomorrow morning again testing. The target seems to be now the morning after rather than the night of consumption. I would be interested to see the figures on the amount of deaths caused by hung over motorists and if they are outweighing the deaths/accidents at night.

If people consumed alcohol sensibly they really should have nothing to worry about after a nights sleep, however a couple of glasses of wine seem to now be a couple of bottles. After the Tweet went out I personally witnessed a massive panic of people trying to get transport for the morning. Demand soon out stripped supply. The worrying thing was this went out on a Tuesday night!

[spud the mackem]

Points to remember....

Never drive after even 1 beer

If you are stopped and are over the limit you will be Banned for up to 3 years

You will be fined up to £1000.00

Your car may be confiscated and impounded (£100.00 to get it released)

You will have points on your licence for 3 years (10 points bans you automatically)

You may be jailed for 3 months or more

If you have a resposible job you could lose it......

THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK, its not worth it

[zebra99]

COUNTRY PUB FOR SALE....CHEAP!........

[keithisco]

...and that I think is a large part of the problem. Most pubs seem to be located in town centres because the Accountants that run these enterprises see much higher footfall in the centre of towns. If a country pub survives, without meeting their profitability targets, then they are simply closed down