England and Wales are an ‘outlier’ with the highest legal drink-drive limit in the developed world, it is claimed. This is leading to ‘legal but lethal’ drivers on British roads.
Hunter Abbott is MD of AlcoSense Laboratories, a personal breathalyser firm. He welcomes proposals from the Labour government to reduce the legal drink-drive limit in England and Wales.
“We have drivers who are legal but lethal on our roads,” said Abbott. “The evidence is clear – even modest reductions in blood alcohol concentration significantly lower the crash risk.”
Abbott referred to a 2014 study that showed drivers with a breath alcohol level of 22 micrograms are six times less likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those at the legal limit.
Currently, the legal alcohol limit for drivers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath (or 80 micrograms per 100ml of blood).
This is far higher than many other countries, where the legal limit is low enough that even one drink could push a driver over it.
Notably, Scotland has a lower limit of 22 micrograms per 100ml of breath, or 50 micrograms per 100ml of blood). The government plans to match the Scottish thresholds, which were introduced in 2014, throughout the rest of the UK.
‘A simple step towards saving lives’
“Bringing our limit closer to a level where intoxication is meaningfully reduced should be a no-brainer,” added Abbott, a former racing driver and karting champion.
“It’s a simple, effective step towards saving lives and would bring England and Wales in line with international standards.”
He says the proposals “would reduce alcohol-related crashes and deaths, while also encouraging more cautious behaviour among drivers.”
The lower drink-drive limit is part of Labour’s road safety strategy, due to be published in the autumn. Public consultation is expected to follow toward the end of the year and into early 2026.
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