1. Home
  2. Classic Cars - UK
  3. On the news tonight

On the news tonight

A report (commissioned by the Labour Government) that recommends halving the permitted alcohol levels for drivers.

I can't remember ever seeing statistics that show that drivers just below the current level have a worse accident record than those who haven't had a drink.

All the news stories of drink driving incidents report either the driver (or the pedestrian that staggered into the path of a car) well over the current limit.

And if people are going to drive at over the current limit, then they will almost certainly drive at over any lower limit.

So where are these hundreds of lives saved going to come from?

Jim

Reply to
Indy Jess John
Loading thread data ...

Plenty of tests show many are affected by alcohol at the legal limit.

Since it is legal to drive while below the present limit how would these 'news stories' know if the driver had been drinking at all, unless over that limit and charged?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I wasn't recommending drinking and driving, just pointing out that because statistics on drivers just below the current limit have never been kept, the estimate of a large number of lives which would be saved by lowering it must be complete fiction, as is the assumption that anybody who breaks the current limit will observe a lower one.

My concern is that the lower limit might have the opposite effect to what was intended. For instance, if someone orders a glass of house wine with their meal, and realises afterwards it is a bigger than expected glass[1] which is likely to have put them over the new low limit, they might decide that they may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb and order brandy with their coffee. Most of Europe has a scale of penalties for just over the limit and well over the limit. The UK report doesn't recommend any change to the current one size fits all punishment.

Jim

[1] I have had "a glass of wine" served in various quantities between 125ml and 250ml. It doesn't always say on the menu what quantity is served.
Reply to
Indy Jess John

The date being 16 Jun 2010, Indy Jess John decided to write:

No it doesn't. It's very annoying that those innumerate journos have been saying "nearly half" when the reduction is by three eighths (or to five eighths) from 0.8 to 0.5g/l. That's just as close to a quarter (or three quarters) as it is to a half!

Reply to
Richard Porter

You might be able to make an educated guess by knowing what percentage of accidents are caused by those bang on the legal limit. The snag is alcohol effects people differently. A habitual drinker might well be as safe as ever at the legal limit while an occasional one not. Before this fixed limit was introduced a doctor used to decide whether the individual was unfit or not. Which is perhaps fairer - but life's not fair these days. And of course an individual doctor's opinions could vary too.

The answer is simply not to drink any alcohol at all when driving. Personally, when I drink I want more than a couple of pints, so would prefer non at all to less than that.

Something else that needs legislation - as does the strength of say a house wine?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.