Labour’s plans for near-zero tolerance drink-drive restrict ‘a loss of life knell for nation pubs’ – as minister insists folks can nonetheless have ‘an important night time out’ so long as they do not use a automobile
Labour has been accused of moving to ‘kill off rural pubs’ after unveiling plans to cut the drink-driving limit so that even a single pint could see drivers breaking the law.
Ministers are to consult on whether to slash the limit from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms in England and Wales to bring them in line with Scotland.
The measure due to be announced in a new road safety strategy means that even one standard drink could be risky for some drivers – particularly women and smaller people – as alcohol is processed at varying speeds.
Data shows one in six road fatalities in 2023 involved drink-driving and the current limit is the highest in Europe alongside Malta.
Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood today insisted that the change would not stop people having a ‘great night out’ if you ‘don’t take your car’.
She said people could use buses or taxis, arrange a designated driver or have an alcohol-free beverage.
But fears have been raised over the impact on rubs in rural areas which rely on people travelling over unwalkable distances in areas with little or no public transport.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said the move was a, ‘death knell for country pubs across Britain’.
And Tory shadow transport minister Greg Smith, added: ‘This is supposed to be a road safety plan, but it reads like another chapter of Labour’s anti-driver playbook.
Ministers are to consult on whether to slash the limit from 35 micrograms of alcoholper 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms in England and Wales to bring them in line with Scotland.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said: ‘This is a death knell for country pubs across Britain. Labour has no connection to how real life works’
Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood today insisted that the change would not stop people having a ‘great night out’ if you ‘don’t take your car’.
‘Labour can’t seem to imagine a world where you can own a car without being punished for it.
‘Road safety in rural Lincolnshire is not the same as road safety in central London. Yet Labour have produced a one-size-fits-nowhere strategy that ignores how people travel in different parts of the country.’
Mr Farage told The Telegraph: ‘This is a death knell for country pubs across Britain. Labour has no connection to how real life works.’
What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of tougher drink-drive laws?
It is the latest move in a growing row between Labour and the hospitality industry. Some pubs have banned Labour MPs amid concerns about the end of a Covid-era business rates relief announced by Rachel Reeves at the budget in November.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) urged the Government to ensure its new road safety plans are ‘proportionate and evidence-based’ to avoid an impact on struggling pubs.
A spokesperson for the BBPA insisted the pub sector is ‘committed to actively promoting responsible drinking through its investment in no and low beer and support of drink-drive campaigns’, and pointed to a decline in alcohol-related driving accidents in recent Government data.
It also warned that the pub sector ‘continues to face huge challenges’, adding: ‘So any additional policy measures that further impact trade will be of real concern to licensees, especially those in rural areas.’
Ms Greenwood told Times Radio there was evidence from Scotland that cutting its drink drive limit in 2014 did not have a ‘significant impact’ on the pub trade.
‘We don’t want to stop people from going to the pub and having a great night out. What we’re just saying is don’t take your car,’ she said.
‘So that might mean that you know, some places you’ll be able to take a bus or a taxi.
‘In other places, you’re going out with a group of mates, one of you agrees to be the designated driver.
‘I know from working with the pub trade, how many great low alcohol drinks there are out there now, most of our favourite brands produced in a low alcohol version, so people have lots of opportunities to do something, to choose a different drink when you want to go out and you know, and enjoy yourself in the pub.’
The road safety strategy also proposes to require some convicted drink-drivers to have ‘alcolocks’ fitted to their vehicles, and new powers to suspend driving licences for people suspected of drink or drug-driving offences.
Alcolocks are devices which prevent a vehicle from being started or driven unless the motorist passes a breath test.
They are already used in several countries – such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and the US – in return for shorter driving bans.
The reforms – which are the widest in scope since the Road Safety Act was passed under the Tony Blair government in 2006 – also mean older drivers will be forced to take eye tests.
Motorists aged 70 and above can no longer self-report visual diseases to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) after coroners warned the system could be abused.
Twelve prevention of future deaths reports since 2019 have expressed significant concerns over the current system of self-reporting.
Just two other European countries rely on this method of identifying drivers with visual diseases.
