Campaign to lower drink drive limit in parliament
A North East charity has been in parliament this week, campaigning for a lower drink drive limit.
As the festive season gets underway, we’ve spoken to some people who admit they’d risk having one or two drinks at the office Christmas party before driving home.
But last year alone, more than 80 were killed on North East roads by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Balance North East have been the Westminster this week to launch the Lower Limit campaign.
Parliamentarians, emergency service workers, health and road safety campaign groups came together to support the change of lowering the limit in England and Wales from 80mg alcohol/100ml blood to 50mg/100ml.
Experts say it would reduce drink driving fatalities by at least 10%, and is supported by many motoring and roads safety charities, as well as 77% of the British public.
Colin Shevills, Director of Balance North East, said:
“If we’re going to drive down deaths, we need a lower drink drive limit. It’s our emergency services, our paramedics, our police officers and our hospitals that have to pick up the pieces.
“It’s something that is very similar for the government to do, it’s very popular with the public and it would ease pressure on our emergency services.”
Anita Thompson from Barnard Castle supports the campaign. Anita’s son Nick was killed alongside his friend in a drink drive crash in 2014. She said:
“It was two families that were just totally ripped apart unnecessarily just because of one bad choice that they made.
“Unless you’ve actually been on the receiving end of a drink drive accident then you don’t really understand the impact that it has on not just you but your family, friends, everyone around you… especially at this time of year because there is a bigger risk.”