§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the current(a) drink-drive limits and (b) penalties for the member states of the European Community. [27354]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe current legal drink-drive limits for the member states of the European Community, defined as milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, are listed in the table. A number of member states are likely to reduce their limit from 80 to 50mg per 100m1 in the near future. The Danish Parliament has passed the necessary legislation but not yet brought it into force; in Germany, legislation is currently before the Federal Parliament and we understand that Spain is also considering such a reduction.
Legal drink-drive limits in EC member states Member States Legal blood/alcohol limit (mg/100ml) Austria 80 Belgium 50 Denmark 80 Finland 50 France 50 Germany 80 Greece 50 Ireland 80 Italy 80 Luxembourg 80 Netherlands 50 Portugal 50 Spain 80 Sweden 20 United Kingdom 80 My Department does not hold comprehensive information on penalties in other member states.
§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the alcohol content of drivers killed in road accidents where the content is(a) under the legal limit, (b) marginally over the legal limit and (c) substantially over the legal limit in each of the last five years. [27350]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonExact figures are not available. However, Table 1 provides an indication of the distribution of blood alcohol content in car and motorcycle fatalities aged 16 and over from 1991–95. Figures for later years are not yet available.