Drink driving limit in UK set to be slashed in | Tech News

The drink-driving limit in England and Wales might be cut in a wide-ranging Government plan to improve highway security. Ministers are drawing up a new strategy for the autumn, which might be probably the most in depth reform of driving legal guidelines because the Road Safety Act in 2006. Proposals embody reducing the drink-drive limit from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath to 22 micrograms, matching the present stage in Scotland. 

Other measures into consideration embody obligatory eyesight checks for drivers over 70, harder penalties for motorists whose passengers fail to put on seatbelts, and a crackdown on uninsured drivers and “ghost plates” that can’t be detected by cameras, The Times experiences.

The deliberate modifications come as highway casualty figures show a worrying trend. 

Last yr, 1,633 people died in highway visitors accidents and virtually 28,000 have been significantly injured, the equal of one individual killed or significantly harm each 18 minutes. 

Serious accidents fell sharply between 2000 and 2010, however have since risen by virtually 20%.

A Government source instructed The Times: “It cannot be right that one person is killed or seriously injured on our roads every 18 minutes. Just think of the impact on those people and their families. We cannot sit by and simply do nothing.”

The quantity of drivers in Britain over the age of 60 concerned in collisions inflicting death or severe damage has risen by 47% since 2010.

A current coroner’s report warned that the UK has some of the “laxest” sight-related driving legal guidelines in Europe, with solely three nations counting on drivers to self-report medical situations affecting their imaginative and prescient.

Under the proposals, drivers over 70 would need an eye take a look at each three years when renewing their licence, with potential medical checks for situations reminiscent of dementia.

Seatbelt enforcement might additionally be strengthened. Currently, drivers caught with out a seatbelt face three penalty factors and a most £500 court docket advantageous, whereas passengers with a licence can be given two factors. 

The proportion of highway deaths involving somebody not carrying a seatbelt rose from 21% in 2014 to 25% final yr, rising to 40% for back-seat passengers.

There are additionally plans to make prosecutions for drug-driving simpler by permitting police to use roadside saliva checks as proof, changing the need for blood checks.

Over the previous decade, the quantity of drivers killed with medication in their system has risen by 78%.

Edmund King, president of the AA, mentioned the strategy was “long overdue” and that stronger guidelines, mixed with more police enforcement, might save dozens of lives annually.

He mentioned: “It is in everyone’s interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly.”

“In other countries, such as Australia and Canada, the introduction of new measures to help young drivers has reduced death and serious injury by between 20% and up to 40%. 

“Hence, if the UK scheme saw similar reductions, it is estimated that at least 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries could be prevented each year.”

The Government is anticipated to put the strategy out to session in the autumn.