Police chiefs are calling for a change in the law to lower the drink-driving limit after road deaths rose to their highest level in 13 years.
The National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) want tougher laws to punish drivers who consume more than a small glass of beer.
Chief constables are also backing a zero-tolerance approach to drunk drivers, changing procedures to allow officers to issue roadside driving bans as soon as someone tests positive, rather than allowing offenders to continue driving for months while awaiting trial.
The proposed crackdown comes after doctors vowed to lobby ministers to almost halve the legal limit set in 1967, 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 that individuals are affected by alcohol consumption in different ways, and even small amounts of alcohol can impair driving.
If a man drinks more than two pints, on average he is likely to be over the drink driving limit.
For women, drinking more than one pint or standard glass of wine may exceed 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 driving limit (file image)
It comes after road deaths rose to their highest level in 13 years (file image)
The British Medical Association (BMA) wants to cut the limit by almost half, to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for the majority of drivers, and 20mg for new and commercial drivers.
This would amount to just a small glass of wine or beer. The changes would mean that some men would go over the limit with a pint.
At least 17 organizations have endorsed the BMA's recommendations, including the Alcohol Health Alliance, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and road safety charity Brake.
In 2022, the number of drunk driving deaths reached a record high, with 300 fatalities in collisions, the highest number since 2009.
The latest data shows that in 2022, 18 percent of road deaths were related to drunk driving, which is the same as in 1987.
Police chiefs now say consultation is needed to determine what the alcohol limit should be.
During a recent armed forces campaign, a record number of people were arrested in some areas for drink-driving or drug-driving.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner of Sussex, head of the National Police Chiefs' Council for road policing, said: 'All too often in policing we see the damaging consequences of drink and drug driving, and any fatal accident or serious injury that is considered as a result of this is completely avoidable.
The legal limit in England is currently 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (file image)
'Drinking and driving will not be tolerated and we support the BMA's call to lower the legal blood alcohol limit.'
She added: 'In addition to our current powers, we will also continue to advocate for more effective legislation that allows for quicker interim disqualifications for those who fail roadside tests.
“This will remove the risks from our roads and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured by those who are repeatedly criminally irresponsible.
'If someone has made the decision to drink or drive, we must be able to act quickly and decisively to prevent them from doing so again.'
Joy Allen and David Sidwick, leaders of APCC addictions and substance abuse, and Sarah Taylor and Marc Jones, leaders of APCC road policing, also support a change in the law.
They said: 'Any amount of alcohol before driving is dangerous.
'By supporting the BMA's call for a reduction in 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 and make 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 ban on drink driving, both because drink driving is the cause of hundreds of unnecessary deaths on Britain's roads every year and because the impact of alcohol on year varies. every person, depending on gender, weight and type of drink.
“People can't guess what's safe and what's not, and so the safest thing you can do, and the easiest thing that everyone can understand, is just don't drink and drive.”
Recent research by the RAC found that a third of drivers were in favor of lowering the legal blood alcohol limit to zero.
RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: 'Shockingly, government data shows we are back to a similar number of drink-driving fatalities as the late 1980s, and a significant number of drink-driving offenses are being committed. committed by people who drive under the influence. repeat offenders.
'The idea of ​​lowering the legal drink driving limit – an idea supported by a third of motorists surveyed – may not be the only answer.
'Road casualty data for Scotland, where the drink-driving limit was lowered to a lower level than the rest of Britain a decade ago, suggests that the proportion of casualties in alcohol-related collisions has not fallen.
'We hope that the issue of drink-driving will be addressed in the Government's soon-to-be-published road safety strategy, as tackling it properly could save hundreds of lives every year.'
