Fire Brigade authorities call for England to follow Scotland's lower drink drive limit

Representatives of fire brigades authorities have called for a lower drink drive limit in England - to follow the recent Scotland decision.

Jeremy Hilton, Chairman of the Local Government Association Fire Services Management Committee called for the English limit to be lowered from the current 0.08%BAC to the Scottish 0.05%BAC. Describing the current English limit as "simply unacceptable" he estimated that a lower limit would save 170 lives a year. Meanwhile, Peter Dartford, President of the Chief Fire Officers Association, said they want to see the limit brought down to make it clear that no amount of alcohol is safe to drink before driving. He said that of all the difficult things firefighters encounter, road traffic collisions are among the worst.

The RAC believes a lower limit would save £300 million for the emergency services in call- out costs and hospital admissions. Pete Willams for the RAC said: "It us clear that there is an overwhelming tide of opinion among law-abiding motorists that England and Wales should follow suit with Scotland and adopt the lower alcohol limit - which is widespread across Europe".