The drink-drive limit in England and Wales could be cut from 35 to 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath under new proposals. The figure would bring the two countries in line with Scotland, which cut its drink-drive limit in 2014.
The number of people killed in drink-driving incidents has risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022 and prompting concern that existing road safety measures are no longer working well enough.
Experts have broadly welcomed the Government’s ambition to update its road safety strategy as well as the idea of reducing the drink-drive limit. But some caution such a proposal would require much more backing for roads policing teams to enforce the change.
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In total, 1,633 people were killed and almost 28,000 seriously injured in traffic incidents in 2024. Numbers have remained relatively constant after a large fall between 2000 and 2010.
In what would be a major overhaul of the UK’s road safety laws, ministers are also said to be mulling tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and failing to wear a seatbelt. The proposals, set to be published as part of a road safety strategy in the autumn, come amid concern about the number of people being killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads.
Other proposals are reported to include allowing the police to bring prosecutions for drug-driving on the basis of roadside saliva tests rather than blood tests as increasing numbers of drivers are being caught with drugs in their system.
The UK is also one of only three European countries to rely on self-reporting of eyesight problems that affect driving, leading ministers to consider compulsory eye tests every three years for drivers aged over 70 and a driving ban for those who fail.
