Lower drink-drive limit should be a priority

IN his letter headlined ‘Drink drive theory challenged’ (August 18), Michael Job refers to scientific research carried out by Dr Declan Bedford.

This study found that alcohol was present in 31% of all fatal road traffic accidents. Furthermore, 36.3% of killed drivers had a blood alcohol level of greater than 20mg/100ml.

Other international studies have shown alcohol is a significant factor in road traffic crashes whereby drivers at the legal limit (80mg/100ml) pose a risk at least 15 times greater than sober drivers. The relative risk of a drink-drive accident increases significantly after 50mg/100ml and several countries have reported studies indicating that lowering the blood alcohol content limit from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml reduces alcohol-related fatalities.