Dave Thompson MSP

In a debate on further powers for the Scottish Parliament today (Wed.), SNP MSP Dave Thompson will announce he has stepped up his campaign to reduce the legal drink drive limit in Scotland from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg by seeking the support of the Northern Irish Administration.

The Northern Irish Environment Minister Edwin Poots recently announced the decision to reduce the legal drink drive limit to 50mg per 100 ml of blood beginning in 2010.  In a letter to Mr. Poots yesterday, Mr. Thompson outlined his ongoing campaign to implement the same measures in Scotland, the broad support received so far and the continual roadblock posed by the UK Government who in the past claimed it would be 'inappropriate' to reduce the limit in one part of the UK rather than as a whole.

Mr. Thompson went on to praise the action taken by Mr. Poots and the Northern Irish Administration on the issue of drink driving, and sought his support to get the same changes implemented in Scotland.  This latest move is part of a campaign by Mr. Thompson which has spanned over two years.

Dave Thompson MSP said: "The UK Government has a poor record on this issue. Before the 1997 election and again in 1998, the Labour Party announced that it intended to reduce the legal limit to 50mg and this proposal was put out for consultation.

"Twelve years and a number of false starts later and they are no where nearer to fulfilling their promise.  In the past they claimed it to be inappropriate to have different legal limits in different parts of the UK, yet now Northern Ireland has moved to lower their limit in an effort to save lives.

"The UK Transport Secretary Paul Clark has just announced another review of the issue, with no report until March 2010 and no changes to be implemented until the next Parliament.  I'm afraid that is not good enough.  He admits that we have seen dramatic increases  in casualties over the last 40 years since the current limit was first set.

"How can he in good conscience admit to these needless deaths and at the same time kick the issue into the long grass?

"The Scottish people are sick of the UK Government ignoring the issue.  All the parties in Scotland agreed to reducing the limit in a September vote in the Parliament, as well as agreeing on the Calman recommendation to transfer these responsibilities immediately.

"It's time for the UK Government to release these ministerial powers to Scotland.  As they are refusing to lower the limit in the UK, then they must allow Scotland to step up to the plate - as Northern Ireland already has.

Notes:

1. Dave Thompson's letter to Northern Irish Environment Minister Edwin Poots is available here.

2. Details of Northern Ireland's plans to cut the drink drive limit can be found here.

3. Details of the newest UK Government review on drink driving legislation can be found here.

4. Details of the vote in the Scottish Parliament in September 2009 to support reducing the limit can be found here.

Copy of the motion agreed to is below -

That the Parliament welcomes the publication on 15 June 2009 of Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2020; notes the significant reductions in the numbers of children and young people killed and seriously injured in the period 1997 to 2007; calls on the Scottish Government to prioritise making streets safer for cyclists and for vulnerable groups of pedestrians such as visually impaired and partially sighted people; notes the road safety vision for Scotland, which is in line with other leading road safety countries, and further notes the road safety targets, priorities and commitments and the support of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland to tackle road casualty reductions in Scotland over the next decade; notes that ongoing investment in the road network is crucial to making our roads safer; believes that road spending should be prioritised on the most dangerous black spots and those roads with the highest numbers of accidents and fatalities; reiterates its support for a reduction in the drink-driving limit from 80 mg to 50 mg per 100 ml of blood; expresses deep concern at the disproportionately high incidence of fatalities and serious injuries on rural roads, and calls for greater emphasis on specific, targeted action to improve the safety of Scotland's rural roads.

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