Drink-drive limit could be cut in plan to overhaul road safety laws
The proposals, set to be published as part of a road safety strategy in the autumn, come amid concern about the number of people being killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads.
Last year, 1,633 people were killed and almost 28,000 seriously injured in traffic incidents, and numbers have remained relatively constant following a large fall between 2000 and 2010.
A Labour source said: 'At the end of the last Labour government, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was at a record low, but numbers have remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments.
'In no other circumstance would we accept 1,600 people dying, with thousands more seriously injured, costing the NHS more than £2 billion per year.'
Meanwhile, the number of people killed in drink-driving incidents has risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022 and prompting concern that existing road safety measures are no longer working.
Under the plans being considered by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, the drink-drive limit in England and Wales could be cut from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms.
This figure would be in line with Scotland, which cut its drink-drive limit in 2014, and the rest of Europe, where no other country has a limit as high as that in England and Wales.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is due to publish the Government's road safety strategy in the autumn (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The UK is also one of only three European countries to rely on self-reporting of eyesight problems that affect driving, leading ministers to consider compulsory eye tests every three years for drivers aged over 70 and a driving ban for those who fail.
Other proposals are reported to include allowing the police to bring prosecutions for drug-driving on the basis of roadside saliva tests rather than blood tests as increasing numbers of drivers are being caught with drugs in their system.
The Labour source added: 'This Labour Government will deliver the first road safety strategy in a decade, imposing tougher penalties on those breaking the law, protecting road users and restoring order to our roads.'
The strategy is due to be published in the autumn, and all proposals will be subject to consultation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
26 minutes ago
- The National
Listen to Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. You'll hear Nigel Farage
The meaning was clear. Thatcher had shifted the conversation in UK politics to such an extent that the left-wing Labour Party of Clement Atlee and Nye Bevan simply could not exist in the mainstream of the 21st century. The Conservatives' 'opponents' under Blair reflected Thatcher's own politics more than they did their own predecessors. READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon predicts that UK will 'no longer exist' in 20 years This was proven true when Jeremy Corbyn won leadership of the party – only to find that the same socialist policies that MPs like Wes Streeting gloat about as Labour achievements are now utterly unpalatable to them. But while that shift is now baked in stone, another is happening before our eyes. The entirety of UK politics is being dragged ever further to the right, with Nigel Farage steering the tow. We could look at the now-commonplace far-right-backed protests against immigration south of the Border. Or we could look at a media all too willing to excuse them. Take the BBC, for example, who opened their report on the growing pattern with a quote saying: "We fear for our children. If that makes me far-right then so be it." Or take Sky News, who used a picture of a Reform councillor holding a sign saying: 'I'm not far right. I'm worried about my kids.' (Image: Sussex News and Pictures) This nebulous 'fear for children' appears again and again – without any mention of children barricaded inside hotels due to violent anti-immigration protests outside, of course, let alone those radicalised into actually joining the protests. As excuses are made for the rhetoric, it continues to worsen. And as it worsens, it spreads. Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has posted on Twitter three times in the last 24 hours. Every post includes some variation on the words: 'If you're an immigrant, I will deport you.' Some go further, and appear to threaten tourists as well. If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return. If you come to this country and commit a crime, we will deport you as soon as possible. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 11, 2025 Before that, Starmer was threatening delivery riders 'working illegally" with arrest. Before that, it was people arriving on small boats. Before that, he wrote: 'No gimmicks, just results. If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back.' These messages aren't for the people actually coming to the UK. They are meant to be read by the far-right activists that populate Twitter. And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is going even further. Not content with deportations, she has said she would consider placing people into camps so that they do not bring 'hassle into communities'. These are the extremist mutterings of a far-right activist, not the serious policy proposals of a Conservative leader. And they are normalised to the point that no one is even really batting an eye. The UK is not heading into a rabbit hole, we are already so far down it that the world of 2007 seems like a foreign land. If you can remember back then, Tory candidate Nigel Hastilow was reprimanded by his own party leadership for writing that Enoch Powell 'was right'. In 2025, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is dropping not-very-subtle references to Powell apparently of his own (speechwriter's) volition. In the not-too-distant future, if you hear Nigel Farage asked to name his greatest achievement, don't be surprised if the reply comes: 'Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch.'
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Badenoch suggests migrants held in ‘camps' as crossings near 50,000 under Labour
The Conservative Party leader warned that some communities 'don't feel safe', as she visited Epping in Essex, where protesters have gathered in recent weeks opposing the decision to house asylum seekers in local hotels. Latest Home Office figures show that 49,797 people have arrived on British shores by small boat since Labour won last year's general election. Children were seen wrapped in blankets as they arrived into the Port of Ramsgate, Kent, by a lifeboat vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on Monday. The Conservative Party has claimed the figure has surpassed 50,000 following Monday's arrivals, but the official numbers are yet to be confirmed. At Epping's Black Lion pub, Mrs Badenoch told members of the community: 'We've got to turn things around very quickly. We cannot use rules from 1995, or 2005, or even 2015 for 2025. 'Our world is changing very quickly, and we need to adapt to it.' She added: 'Is it possible for us to set up camps and police that, rather than bringing all of this hassle into communities?' Asked what she meant by the suggestion, Mrs Badenoch told the PA news agency: 'We need to make sure that communities like Epping are safe. What a lot of the parents – the mothers and even some of the children – have said to me is that they don't feel safe. 'It is unfair to impose this burden on communities.' The MP for North West Essex said that 'lots of people here have been talking about being harassed by a lot of people in the hotels' and continued: 'Not everyone here is a genuine asylum seeker. People are arriving in our country illegally and that is why we have a plan to make sure that people who arrive here illegally are deported immediately. 'We need to close down that pathway to citizenship that means that lots of people get here not making any contributions, claiming welfare, claiming benefits. 'And we also need a deterrent.' The Government has previously set out its intention to close asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament. 'My worry is that things are actually going to get worse as Labour tries to move people out of hotels and into private accommodation – I think that is going to be a much worse situation,' Mrs Badenoch said. She had earlier told members of the community: 'As a party, we need to also hear from the community about what you think the solutions are. We don't have all the answers; it's important that we make sure that the community is part of the problem solved.' Referring to protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I think there can be a balance. 'There is a big difference between local people protesting about something that's happening in their midst and 'professional protesters' who turn up at lots of different events. 'They are not equivalent, and I think that there needs to be some recognition that people can be in their neighbourhood talking about something there, and other people who have an academic or a theoretical or political belief joining that to have a counter-protest. 'Also this is your home, this is your community, and that in my view is quite important. People should have some kind of precedence in their own communities versus other people randomly passing through, otherwise we start to change the nature of what protest is.' Demonstrations began on July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denies sexual assault and is due to stand trial this month. A group of refugee organisations and charities have urged party leaders to take a 'strong and united stand' after a wave of anti-migrant protests on the weekend. Hundreds of protesters in Nuneaton marched through the Warwickshire town on Saturday after two men, reported to be Afghan asylum seekers, were charged over the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Signatories to an open letter, published on Monday, told politicians they hold a responsibility to 'end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past'. The letter, co-ordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees and signed by groups including Oxfam and Amnesty, said: 'Many of the people targeted have already suffered unimaginably, having fled for their lives from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. 'Now, due to unacceptable delays and a broken system, they are housed in hotels, a collective target of hostility, banned from working, with limited control over their lives or futures.' The coalition added that an 'outpouring of support from communities condemning the hatred is a powerful reminder that these views do not represent the vast majority'. Some protesters, also protesting against asylum hotels and houses of multiple occupation, held signs reading 'What about our girls' human right to safety' at the Nuneaton demonstration. The End Violence Against Women Coalition – another signatory to the open letter – said the 'far-right has long exploited the cause of ending violence against women and girls to promote a racist, white supremacist agenda' and added the 'attacks against migrant and racialised communities are appalling and do nothing to improve women and girls' autonomy, rights and freedoms'.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Badenoch suggests migrants held in ‘camps' as crossings near 50,000 under Labour
The Conservative Party leader warned that some communities 'don't feel safe', as she visited Epping in Essex, where protesters have gathered in recent weeks opposing the decision to house asylum seekers in local hotels. Latest Home Office figures show that 49,797 people have arrived on British shores by small boat since Labour won last year's general election. Children were seen wrapped in blankets as they arrived into the Port of Ramsgate, Kent, by a lifeboat vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on Monday. The Conservative Party has claimed the figure has surpassed 50,000 following Monday's arrivals, but the official numbers are yet to be confirmed. At Epping's Black Lion pub, Mrs Badenoch told members of the community: 'We've got to turn things around very quickly. We cannot use rules from 1995, or 2005, or even 2015 for 2025. 'Our world is changing very quickly, and we need to adapt to it.' She added: 'Is it possible for us to set up camps and police that, rather than bringing all of this hassle into communities?' Asked what she meant by the suggestion, Mrs Badenoch told the PA news agency: 'We need to make sure that communities like Epping are safe. What a lot of the parents – the mothers and even some of the children – have said to me is that they don't feel safe. 'It is unfair to impose this burden on communities.' The MP for North West Essex said that 'lots of people here have been talking about being harassed by a lot of people in the hotels' and continued: 'Not everyone here is a genuine asylum seeker. People are arriving in our country illegally and that is why we have a plan to make sure that people who arrive here illegally are deported immediately. 'We need to close down that pathway to citizenship that means that lots of people get here not making any contributions, claiming welfare, claiming benefits. 'And we also need a deterrent.' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for a deterrent (Lucy North/PA) The Government has previously set out its intention to close asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament. 'My worry is that things are actually going to get worse as Labour tries to move people out of hotels and into private accommodation – I think that is going to be a much worse situation,' Mrs Badenoch said. She had earlier told members of the community: 'As a party, we need to also hear from the community about what you think the solutions are. We don't have all the answers; it's important that we make sure that the community is part of the problem solved.' Police outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex where there has been a number of demonstrations (Yui Mok/PA) Referring to protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I think there can be a balance. 'There is a big difference between local people protesting about something that's happening in their midst and 'professional protesters' who turn up at lots of different events. 'They are not equivalent, and I think that there needs to be some recognition that people can be in their neighbourhood talking about something there, and other people who have an academic or a theoretical or political belief joining that to have a counter-protest. 'Also this is your home, this is your community, and that in my view is quite important. People should have some kind of precedence in their own communities versus other people randomly passing through, otherwise we start to change the nature of what protest is.' Protesters outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Demonstrations began on July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denies sexual assault and is due to stand trial this month. A group of refugee organisations and charities have urged party leaders to take a 'strong and united stand' after a wave of anti-migrant protests on the weekend. Hundreds of protesters in Nuneaton marched through the Warwickshire town on Saturday after two men, reported to be Afghan asylum seekers, were charged over the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Signatories to an open letter, published on Monday, told politicians they hold a responsibility to 'end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past'. The letter, co-ordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees and signed by groups including Oxfam and Amnesty, said: 'Many of the people targeted have already suffered unimaginably, having fled for their lives from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. 'Now, due to unacceptable delays and a broken system, they are housed in hotels, a collective target of hostility, banned from working, with limited control over their lives or futures.' The coalition added that an 'outpouring of support from communities condemning the hatred is a powerful reminder that these views do not represent the vast majority'. Some protesters, also protesting against asylum hotels and houses of multiple occupation, held signs reading 'What about our girls' human right to safety' at the Nuneaton demonstration. The End Violence Against Women Coalition – another signatory to the open letter – said the 'far-right has long exploited the cause of ending violence against women and girls to promote a racist, white supremacist agenda' and added the 'attacks against migrant and racialised communities are appalling and do nothing to improve women and girls' autonomy, rights and freedoms'.
