§ Dr. LadymanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to change the legal BAC limit for motorists. [45267]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere are no plans to make a change in the foreseeable future. The limit will stay at 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The Government consulted on this in 1998 and waited upon proposals from Europe before considering the matter further. No firm legislation was forthcoming from the European Union although the European Commission produced a Recommendation which, among other measures, recommended community wide harmonisation of the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for motorists at 50mg. We have now considered whether it would be desirable to make such a change and concluded that we should maintain emphasis on enforcement and publicity. In reaching this decision the Government were mindful of the fact that our penalties are among the toughest in Europe. But we remain committed to combating drink-driving and support more research and collaboration at a European level.