LARSOA calls for drink drive limit to be cut

One of the country's leading road safety organisations has added its voice to that of ACPO in calling for the drink drive limit to be lowered so that motorists cannot legally drink and drive.

LARSOA, the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association, says more needs to be done to tackle the problem of motorists who drink and drive and believes the government should lower the drink drive limit.

ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) figures released today show that 9,500 motorists were caught with excess alcohol in their blood over the Christmas period.  

Too many people are still being caught drinking and driving despite high profile enforcement campaigns and this is why road safety officers are calling on the government to apply even more stringent measures to tackle the dangers innocent road users face from those who flout the law.

During the 2006 annual festive crack down on drink driving, 9,500 motorists were caught with excess alcohol in their blood - many were still over the limit the morning after - an issue often overlooked by those who have been drinking heavily the night before.

The current limit is 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood but LARSOA believes this should be lowered to 50mg and the only really safe option is to make it illegal to drink and drive.

Simon Ettinghausen, chair of LARSOA, says: "The government wants to crack down on people who drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel and the emphasis is on making people understand the risk of driving after just one drink. We believe the government could really make an impact by lowering the legal limit and it is great to see ACPO agreeing with us and being so pro-active in this way.

"Currently, it is almost impossible for anyone to calculate if they are over the legal limit to drive because alcohol affects everyone differently and it depends on various factors including whether a driver has eaten, had a drink on an empty stomach as well as their current state of health or physical fitness.

"We advise people that the only safe way to drive is with no alcohol in the blood. Lowering the legal limit to 50mg would send out a clear, strong message that it is totally unacceptable to put lives at risk by driving under the influence of alcohol."

More people are stopped and breathalysed during the festive season than any other time in the year and the penalties drivers face are among the toughest in Europe but our limit does not reflect this at present.

Simon adds: "Many people will be starting the New Year without a driving licence and the impact on their lives and livelihoods will be hard. We hope more people will think about the danger they pose to both themselves, other road users and pedestrians before they take a chance behind the wheel."

ABOUT LARSOA

LARSOA is a national road safety organisation representing road safety officers (RSOs) employed in local government across the UK.

LARSOA represents 185 of the 200 eligible local authorities across the UK, assisting RSOs to fulfil their statutory role to reduce the number and severity of road casualties through education, training and publicity programmes.

LARSOA publishes an up-to-date round-up of road safety news from across the UK on its website www.larsoa.org.uk .

LARSOA also aims to influence national debate - government policy and action together with public opinion. The association works to achieve national recognition for road safety issues, commissions research into behaviour which contributes to road collisions and develops national road safety campaigns.

The association assists in identifying achievable national targets to reduce the number of collisions on the country's roads.