Drink-drive limit may be cut by over a third

Guernsey's drink-drive limit could be cut under recommendations going to the States this month. Included in the Bailiwick Alcohol Strategy is a proposal to reduce the blood alcohol maximum from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml.

The Policy Council is bringing the strategy, which has been driven forward by Health and Social Services minister Peter Roffey, to the House.

But there are signs of reluctance from the Home Department, which would be tasked with leading any new drink-drive legislation.

'We're ambivalent about it. In an ideal world nobody would drink and drive ' I think members of my department will take a pragmatic view about it,' said Home minister Mike Torode.

'I'm not prepared to die in the trenches to get it reduced.'

He thought the initiative was aimed at deterring people from drinking and driving, but not to set a limit that was so low people who had one or two drinks in an evening were over the limit the next morning.

The strategy is released in this month's Billet d'Etat and has been subject to extensive consultation.

'Research has consistently shown a relationship between blood alcohol level and the deterioration of driving skills, with significant impairment occurring from as little as 20mg/100ml,' it says.

'Furthermore, when comparing drivers involved in accidents with matched non-accident drivers, it is clear that as the blood alcohol level rises do does the possibility of having a road accident.'

It adds that even when sober, young drivers are more accident prone than their older, more experienced counterparts.

'Their lower tolerance to alcohol further increases their accident risk. The vulnerability of a young person to the effects of alcohol is shown by the lower average blood alcohol levels of young drink driving offenders compared with older offenders.'

The same pattern is found in drivers who are killed.

'For young people, accident risk increases after one drink; after two it doubles and after five it can have increased tenfold.'

Locally 15 to 24-year-olds committed more drink-driving offences than any other age group.

'The strategy consultation revealed that the majority of participants felt that ideally people should not drink any alcohol when driving, and would have preferred a reduction in the permissible level from 80mg/100ml to 20mg/100ml,' it adds.

'However, it was generally felt that the evidence suggests that a reduction to 50mg/100ml, in line with many European countries and Australia, would significantly reduce the risk of accidents and be more realistically achievable.'

Deputy Roffey is currently in Ireland looking into the implementation of its smoking ban.

There have been several calls for a similar reduction in the UK ' including recent ones from safety group Rospa and from the Association of Chief Police Officers.

But so far the UK has not taken the general European Union line of a 50mg limit.