Fleet World Workshop Tools
Car Tax Calculator
CO2 Calculator
Van Tax Calculator
BiK Rates Company Car Tax

Six out of 10 motorists oppose extending Scotland's drink driving laws to rest of UK

The research for road safety firm SmartWitness found that 62% of drivers do not support an extension of Scotland's new 50mg limit for England, Wales and Northern Ireland – a year after it was introduced north of the border.

Although the limit elsewhere in the UK has remained at 80mg – the highest in Europe – the overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) said extending Scotland’s measures would harm the already struggling pub trade.

And fewer than half those polled (43%) thought the proposed restrictions would make our roads safer.

Three-quarters of drivers (74%) felt further changes may unfairly affect drivers travelling to work the morning after a night's drinking.

And 68% said a new clampdown would be detrimental to the quality of life in rural areas where public transport is often limited.

SmartWitness chief executive said Paul Singh said: "This new research shows that there is no desire to extend the Scottish drink driving clampdown to the rest of the UK.

"Drink driving offences have been falling steadily since 1979 and there has been a huge reduction in drink driving accidents in the same period – down from 20,000 a year to around 6,000.

"The police have done a great job in enforcing the drink drive laws, particularly at Christmas time, and hammering the message that drink driving is totally unacceptable behaviour."

For more of the latest industry news, click here.

Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.