Give drink-driving powers to Scotland, say MSPs

MSPs have called for the devolution of drink drive limits following a poll showing that four out of five Scots would welcome a cut to the alcohol intake of drivers.

The Scottish Government-commissioned poll surveyed 1,008 people with 79 percent in favour of a reduction in the alcohol allowance.

SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands, Dave Thompson said: “These findings must sober minds at Westminster so that powers to cut the drink drive limits, and save lives, can be transferred to Scotland without further delay.”

A cut would take the current level of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood down to 50mg, in line with many European countries.

“There is a clear correlation between cutting the drink driving limit and cutting the numbers of road accidents. When the limit was cut in Switzerland, alcohol related road deaths fell by 44 percent in the first two years. That can not be ignored," said Mr Thompson.

The Calman Commission which reviewed Scottish devolution submitted it's final report last June and it called for this area to be devolved to Holyrood.

Labour MSP Richard Baker has said that it is not being ignored at Westminster: "The UK government have drink drive limits under review and the Calman Commission made it clear that this area of law would be devolved as part of the Calman package of reforms."

Justice Secretary Kenny McAskill pressed the subject  one year ago in a letter to Geoff Hoon, the then Westminster transport secretary. In it he said that 60 lives and 230 serious injuries could be avoided by making these changes.

Mr McAskill wrote: “I would ask you once again to commit now to bring forward a reduction in the limit. Failing such a commitment, we would ask for the powers to set the limit to be transferred to the Scottish Ministers through the mechanism provided in the Scotland Act 1998.”

The results came on the same day that the Scottish Prison Service published results of a survey showing that half of inmates admitted to being inebriated whilst offending.

These figures have been used to support the government's ongoing attempts to implement a minimum price per unit on alcohol.

"There is a very real connection between the ridiculously cheap price of alcohol and criminal behaviour. We urgently need the option of minimum pricing to address this scourge,” said SNP MSP Michael Matheson, a member of the Scottish parliament's health committee.