Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said plans to lower the limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg will be brought forward later this year. He said it was intended the change would take effect as soon as possible.In a fit of sanity last year, Philip Hammond rejected that same reduction for England and Wales, pointing out that the number of drink-driving deaths had fallen by more than 75% since 1979, and that while there remains a "small minority of drivers who flagrantly ignore the limit", their "behaviour is entrenched" ...
... and after careful consideration we have concluded that improving enforcement is likely to have more impact on these dangerous people than lowering the limit.
Eminently sensible.
In how many alcohol-related accidents is alcohol actually the key factor? And in how many of those cases is the driver over the current limit? People who aren't concerned about being over 80mg won't worry about being over 50mg. A quick google turned up 80mg.org.uk, which considers the issues in more detail.
Of course, there was no danger of Scottish politicians approaching the problem rationally. The sooner we're rid of these puritans, the better.
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