Citation

Dunbar JA, Penttila A, Pikkarainen J. Br. Med. J. (Clin. Res. Ed.) 1987; 295(6611): 1458-1460.

Affiliation

University Department of Forensic Medicine, Royal Infirmary, Dundee.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, British Medical Association, Publisher BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3121062

PMCID

PMC1248610

Abstract

The legal limit for drinking and driving in Britain is 80 mg/dl (17.4 mmol/l) of alcohol in the blood. This was chosen 20 years ago on the basis of studies that have recently been reanalysed. Changes in public opinion, the results of recent research, and the evaluation of other countermeasures, such as random breath testing, show that there are good grounds for revising the legal limit downwards. It is suggested that the legal limit should be reduced from 80 mg/dl to 50 mg/dl (10.9 mmol/l) and random breath testing introduced as in most Nordic countries. A zero limit is proposed for learner and first year drivers, who are likely to have accidents even with low concentrations of alcohol in their blood.

Language: en