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New drink drive limit for Scotland

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All change: You could be cleared to drive in England but over the limit when you cross the border

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5 December 2014

drink drive scotland
All change: You could be cleared to drive in England but over the limit when you cross the border

BUSINESS CAR MANAGERS operating SME small fleets in Scotland or cross-border will have to update their company car drivers with the new regulations on the drink drive limits.

The new 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for Scotland is lower than the 80mg limit in the rest of the UK

A new lower drink drive limit has come into force today (05 December 2014) in Scotland from midnight.

The new 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for Scotland is lower than the 80mg limit in the rest of the UK.

Police Scotland stop over 80,000 vehicles each month, with around 20,000 offences detected every month.

According to safety charity Brake, latest figures show that 230 people were killed (one in eight road deaths) and 1,210 were seriously injured in crashes involving someone over the limit.

It’s estimated a further 65 deaths are caused annually by drivers who have been drinking but are under the limit. Drug driving is estimated to cause 200 deaths each year.

Brake wants a zero tolerance drink drive limit of 20mg alcohol per 100ml of blood. It says that even one drink dramatically increases crash risk while a level of 20-50mg increases your likelihood of crashing three-fold.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said:

“We welcome the new lower limit in Scotland as a positive stepping stone towards zero tolerance. We are calling on the UK government to take action on drink driving. We have the highest drink-drive limit in Europe, sending out the dreadful message that a drink or two before driving is acceptable. The evidence shows that a tough approach helps prevent casualties.”

 

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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