‘If I have something to eat, I can probably have another half’, ‘A small glass of wine won’t tip over the edge,’ or, ‘I’ve parked down the road, I can walk some of it off.’ We’ve heard a million excuses from people trying to wriggle out of the drink-drive limit – and it’s always safer to assume that you are over.
In the UK, the current driving limit is approximately between three units and four units. This is roughly a large glass of wine or two pints of average-strength lager – more than enough to leave us feeling giddy and light-headed these days. But factors such as weight, age, and metabolism can affect whether you’re over the limit.
That’s why the British Medical Association (BMA) is lobbying the next government to change one of the highest limits in Europe. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland’s limit is already much tougher) the legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is 80mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.
BMA would like to reduce the limit by nearly half for most people, to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and to 20mg for new and commercial drivers. This would be the equivalent of having a small glass of wine or beer before stepping into the driver’s seat.
According to BMA, alcohol and drug-related deaths were at an all-time high in 2021 and 2022 – almost one-fifth of all road deaths are caused by drunk drivers. But any harm caused by driving under the influence also places a lot of stress on “individuals and our society, emergency services, the NHS, and the economy.”
Lucy Straker, a campaigns manager at Brake, said: “We are proud to be a part of this consensus calling for a reduction in the legal alcohol limit … Road death is sudden, it’s traumatic and it sends shock waves across families, communities and workplaces, and changes lives forever.
“Every year more than 200 people die in drink-driving-related crashes, with a further 1,600 being seriously injured – with a lot of these being innocent road users who haven’t had anything to drink. All of this puts a tremendous strain on our emergency services which can be reduced by lowering the limit.”
The UK’s drink-drive limit was established in 1967. If the future government were to follow through with the BMA’s recommendations, it would put the UK in line with many other European countries such as Ireland and Greece. The BMA also recommends adding health risk warnings to alcohol products and improving awareness of the effects of drinking on driving.
