Tougher drink drive limits introduced in Scotland
12 December 2014
From Friday December 5th, drivers in Scotland face much tougher drink driver rules. They’ll be over the limit if they are found to have more than 50mg of alcohol in every 100ml of blood.
As a rough rule of thumb that equates to a little less than a pint of beer or a large glass of wine for men and half a pint of beer or half a glass of wine for women. The authorities point out that these aren’t strict guidelines because the effect of alcohol varies from one person to another and is determined by age, gender, stress levels and the amount you’ve eaten.
Offenders will be hit with a 12 month ban and fined up to £5,000. They will also be given 3-11 penalty points on their licence and could be sent up to prison for up to six months.
Following the rule change it leaves England, Wales and Northern Ireland (along with Malta) with the most lenient drink driving limit (80mg) in Europe. Figures for 2012 produced by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that drink driving was a factor in 4% of road traffic accidents in the UK.
