Balance welcomes potential plans to reduce drink drive limit
Balance has welcomed potential plans to reduce the drink drive limit in England and Wales, as part of the new road safety strategy set to be published this autumn.
Deaths from drink driving collisions are at their highest level since 2009, having increased by 16% from 2021 to 2022 and 32% since 2012. Drink driving incidents account for nearly 1 in 5 (17%) deaths on the roads [i].
An independent survey of 1,392 North East adults in 2025 by Balance found 76% say alcohol is a big problem nationally, while 62% say alcohol is closely linked with road traffic accidents.
Public support for change is overwhelming: polling shows that 77% of people favour lowering the limit [ii]. Numerous organisations have also called for this reform, including the British Medical Association, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, road safety charity Brake, the Royal College of Physicians, and many public health organisations.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Too many people are dying and being injured on our roads because of alcohol, and more and more lives are being wrecked. This also places a massive strain on our emergency crews, who have to deal with horrific accidents and tell families that a loved one won’t ever be coming home.
“Lowering the limit won’t prevent every accident but it will provide more clarity and leave less room for people to wrongly believe they can have a couple of drinks and still be OK.
“England’s approach to alcohol and our roads now looks grossly outdated and irresponsible compared to the rest of Europe. Cutting the limit would send a clear message, deter more drivers from getting behind the wheel after a few drinks or the morning after, and support our emergency services who have to deal with serious crashes on a daily basis.”
Ailsa added: “But the problem is wider – alcohol is too cheap, too widely promoted and too available, and Governments are far too quick to listen to the lobbying of the alcohol industry. We need a new national strategy to tackle all aspects of alcohol harm and look at solutions for its impact on lives, health and public safety.”
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Newcastle, said: “The Road Traffic Act in 1988 made it an offence to drive under the influence of alcohol and has saved countless lives. However with drink driving incidents now rising again, urgent action is needed.
“The fact we are now back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people drinking and driving is abhorrent. [iii]
“Over the last three decades, alcohol has become increasingly accessible and affordable – all of which have contributed to creating an alcogenic society and impacting on safety and deaths on our roads.
“We need to think long term to prevent people from experiencing harm in the first place. By having a clear national strategy to reduce alcohol harm, we can begin to turn the tide. We need measures that protect health policy from industry influence and instead take an evidence-based approach which tackles affordability, and marketing alongside decreasing the availability of alcohol.”
England and Wales and Northern Ireland (which is currently legislating lower limits) have the highest Blood Alcohol Limits in all of Europe at 80mg/100ml (or 0.08%). But drivers are six times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash if they have 50-80 mg alcohol per 100ml blood, compared to 0ml [iv].
When Scotland reduced its limit in 2014, police figures showed an immediate decrease in drink drive offences. It also led to greater anti-drink driving sentiment and more support for the reduction.
[i] Drink driving in the UK – data from the RAC | RAC Drive
[ii] Public calls for lower drink drive limit as Lords debate road safety law – Alcohol Health Alliance
[iii] https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/road-safety/drink-driving-in-the-uk/
[iv] https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/drink-driving