Police chiefs name for a decrease drink drive restrict as street fatalities soar to a 13-year excessive – which means simply UNDER a pint would tip some males over the restrict

Police chiefs are calling for a change in the law to lower the drink drive limit after road fatalities soared to a 13-year high.

The National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) want tougher laws to punish drivers who consume anything more than a small glass of beer.

Chief constables are also backing a zero-tolerance approach to intoxicated motorists, changing procedures to allow officers to issue a driving ban at the roadside the moment someone tests positive, rather than letting offenders continue driving for months pending a court case.

The proposed crackdown comes after doctors vowed to lobby ministers to almost halve the legal limit established in 1967, which is one of the highest in Europe.

The legal limit in England is currently 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

But body mass, gender and how quickly the body absorbs alcohol mean individuals are impacted differently by drinking and even tiny amounts of alcohol can impair driving.

On average, if a man has more than two pints they will likely be over the drink-drive limit.

For women, having more than one pint or standard glass of wine could put you over the legal limit.

The National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) are calling for a change in the law to lower the drink drive limit (file image)

It comes after road fatalities have soared to a 13-year high (file image)

The British Medical Association (BMA) wants to reduce the limit by nearly half, to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for the majority of drivers, and 20mg for new and commercial drivers.

This would equate to only a small glass of wine or beer. The changes would mean just under a pint would tip some men over the limit.

At least 17 organisations have endorsed the BMA’s recommendations, including the Alcohol Health Alliance, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and the road safety charity Brake.

In 2022, drink-drive fatalities hit a record high, with 300 people killed in collisions , the highest since 2009.

The latest data shows that, in 2022, 18 per cent of road deaths were drink-drive related, which is the same as in 1987.

Police chiefs now say a consultation is needed to determine what the alcohol limit should be.

In a recent campaign by forces, a record number of people were arrested for driving under the influence of drink or drugs in some areas.

Sussex Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, said: ‘In policing we see the damaging impact of drink and drug driving all too often, and every fatality or serious injury which happens as a consequence of this is completely avoidable.

The legal limit in England is currently 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (file image)

‘Driving under the influence of drink or drugs will not be tolerated, and we support the BMA’s call for lowering the legal blood alcohol limit.’

She added: ‘In addition to our current powers, we will also continue to make the case for more effective legislation which enables faster interim disqualifications for those who fail roadside tests.

‘This will remove risk from our roads and reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured by those who are repeatedly criminally irresponsible.

‘If someone has made the decision to drive under the influence of drink or drugs, we must be able to take swift and robust action to stop them doing so again.’

Joy Allen and David Sidwick, APCC addictions and substance misuse leads, and Sarah Taylor and Marc Jones, APCC roads policing leads, are also backing a law change.

They said: ‘Any amount of alcohol before driving is dangerous.

‘By supporting the BMA’s call for a lowering of the legal blood alcohol limit for driving, we are sending a clear message: If you drink, don’t drive.’

Some police leaders want to go even further, making it illegal to drive after drinking any amount of alcohol.

Ms Allen, who is also Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham said: ‘I support a total drink and drive ban, both because drink driving is the cause of hundreds of unnecessary deaths on the UK’s roads every year and because the impact of alcohol differs for every person, dependant on gender, weight and the type of drink.

‘People can’t guess at what is safe and what isn’t and so the safest thing to do, and the easiest thing for everyone to understand, is just not to drink and drive.’

Recent RAC research suggested a third of drivers backed lowering the legal blood alcohol limit to zero.

RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: ‘Shockingly, government data shows we’re back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people drinking and driving as we were in the late 1980s and that a significant number of drink-drive offences are committed by reoffenders.

‘The idea of reducing the legal drink-drive limit – an idea supported by a third of drivers we surveyed – may not alone be the answer.

‘Road casualty data for Scotland, which reduced its drink-drive limit to a lower level than the rest of the UK ten years ago suggests it hasn’t cut the percentage of casualties in alcohol-related collisions.

‘We hope the issue of drink-driving will be addressed in the Government’s soon-to-be-published road safety strategy, as clamping down on it in the right way could save hundreds of lives every year.’