An organisation that represents motorists has recently urged the government to create lenient sentences for those who break the laws about drink-driving. They have made this call because new lower limits are about to be introduced which are going to mean people can drink less before they can legally drive.
The organisation is the Institution of Advanced Motorists and they have said that the lowering of the drink drive limit is going to mean that it is harder for the police to get public support for the measure.
The lower limit is being imposed in Scotland and is being introduced as part of the power that Scotland’s government have which has been devolved from Westminster. Currently the limit on alcohol in the blood is 80 milligrams for every hundred millilitres, but Scotland are proposing to lower this to 50 milligrams per hundred millilitres. This new limit would mean that some people would be unable to drive after having just one small glass of wine, or a single pint of strong beer.
However, the introduction has been largely supported by people who support greater safety on the country’s roads. The director of policy for the IAM is Neil Greig and he is commented, “If the government lower the drink-driving limit then it is going to be a rather harsh punishment to ban someone from driving for an entire year.
“This is going to be unpopular with the public especially when the police are unable to demonstrate that the motorists abilities have been affected in any way.” A spokesperson from the Scottish government has stated that the introduction of the new limit would save lives in the country.
