Clause 13 - Period of endorsement for failure to allow specimen to be tested
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
1:30 pm
David Kidney (PPS (Mr Elliot Morley, Minister of State), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Stafford, Labour)
I agree that over the past couple of decades, this country has achieved dramatic success in making it socially unacceptable to drink and drive. In fact, on any normal day, if we were to test everyone on the roads, we would find that 97 per cent. of drivers would have a blood-alcohol level of either zero or fewer than 50 mg per 100 ml of blood. Our campaigns have been successful, but the hon. Gentleman is right, a worrying trend has developed recently, and some people—often younger people—are driving with more alcohol in their blood. The trend among younger people is perhaps because the pressure to make drink-driving socially unacceptable was not sustained and younger drivers do not understand how unacceptable it is.
There are, however, other pressures. The hon. Member for North Shropshire referred to the Licensing Act 2003, and we must consider also trends in the licensing trade, such as the strength of drinks and the size of glasses.