A Shropshire organisation that educates thousands of convicted drink-drivers has welcomed recommendations which would almost halve the legal drink drive limit.

A review published yesterday said the limit – which for years has been 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood – should be reduced to 50 milligrammes.

The Telford-based TTC Group has educated nearly 100,000 drivers across the country who have broken drink-drive laws over the past few years.

And managing director Jenny Wynn, who is also chairman of ADDAPT, the national association of drink-drive providers, said the new limit would bring the UK into line with the rest of Europe.

She also disputed the “myth” that the UK would have the most stringent drink-drive laws in Europe.

“The lowering of the drink-drive limit from 80 to 50mg will harmonise the UK’s drink-drive laws with the rest of Europe,” said Mrs Wynn.

“People who attend our education courses agree with us.

Critics

“A survey of our course attenders revealed that the majority of people are in favour of reducing the limit to 50mgs.”

Mrs Wynn also rebuffed the critics who claimed that pubs would suffer as a result.

She said: “That’s what they said in 1967 when Barbara Castle introduced the breathalyser and it never happened.

“The notion is that you cannot enjoy yourself without an alcoholic drink which is totally untrue.

“We all enjoy a drink but when you drive you don’t drink. You cannot mix the two.”

In Australia, motorists are regularly stopped in police road blocks and breathalysed while in some Scandinavian countries convicted drink-drivers are jailed, said Mrs Wynn.

She said that “education was the key” to convincing people not to drink and drive.

Many people who attend court for the offence were totally unaware that there is an automatic 12 month driving ban for the offence.

The report was written by Sir Peter North, an academic appointed by the previous Labour government to analyse Britain’s existing drink-drive laws.

In it he claims a reduced drink-drive limit could save up to 150 lives each year – and also calls for the courts to be given power to impose permanent driving bans for persistent offenders.

By Wayne Beese