Latest news with #roadlaws
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New drink driving laws are bad news for one-pint-only drinkers
One pint, or just one glass of wine, could put you over the new drink driving limit coming to England and Wales. The government has announced that it is examining tougher drink-driving regulations. The proposed changes would see the drink-drive threshold reduced from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath to 22 micrograms, bringing it in line with Scotland's limits. According to the Scottish Government's website, even one pint could put you over the limit. The Scottish Government website states that: "Scotland has a zero tolerance approach to drink driving... You cannot safely drink any alcohol when driving... One drink can put you over the limit." READ MORE: Three major changes to driving rules planned READ MORE: Man walks the entire Welsh coast and finds 'days of tarmac and caravan parks' In Scotland, there is no safe number of pints to drink before driving. The legal alcohol limit for driving in Scotland is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. This means that an average man would be limited to just under a pint of beer or a large glass of wine, and women to half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine. Alcohol remains in your system for quite some time after consumption, and so you may still be over the limit the morning after a party. For example, if you have four pints of beer and stop drinking at 9pm, you're not legally sober enough to drive until 7.24am. However, the effect of alcohol varies greatly between individuals due to factors like weight, age, metabolism, and whether you've eaten, making it impossible to determine a specific number of drinks that would be safe. The safest approach, according to the Scottish Government, is to avoid alcohol completely if you plan to drive. This is because everybody processes alcohol in a different way. For example, two people who drink the same pint of beer can show different alcohol levels in the body. Why does alcohol impact people differently? The limit on how much a person can drink if driving cannot simply be changed into drinks or units. The limits are based on how much alcohol is flowing through your body at the time of measurement - whether this be through your breath, blood or urine. The same drink can create different levels of alcohol for different people. According to the government, this depends on: your weight, age, sex and metabolism (the rate your body uses energy) the type of alcohol you drink what you've eaten medication your stress levels Why is the limit not zero? Officials have stopped short at making the drink drive limit zero as it would be 'unfair' as there is more than one reason as to why drivers could have alcohol in their system other than from drinking. Anyone can consume alcohol without knowing it. Some foods, mouthwash and medications can often contain alcohol. What is the penalty for drink-driving? If anyone is convicted of drink driving, you can be handed a minimum driving ban of 12 months, go to prison for six months or be fined up to £5,000.
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment girl under 10 drives car through village: Woman, 32, admits to allowing child behind the wheel
A woman let a child drive a car through a village during a rain storm, a court has heard. Sophie-Leigh Gemmell allowed the girl, who was aged under 10 at the time, to take the wheel of the vehicle in July last year. The 32-year-old yesterday admitted culpable and reckless conduct after footage emerged of the incident in Crimond, Aberdeenshire. The young girl was shown driving the car barefoot and in a rainstorm, according to the BBC. Following an appearance at Peterhead Sheriff Court, sentence on Gemmell was deferred until next month pending reports. She admitted allowing a child to drive a motor vehicle on a public road in poor weather and barefoot to the danger of others, including the child. A video of the incident was seen on social media app Snapchat. It showed the child driving in the dark, using the wipers and indicators and peering over the steering wheel. Gemmell, from Crimond, can be heard cheering during the video. At court, she sat in silence while her defence solicitor, Iain Jane, lodged her guilty plea. The BBC reported that sentence was deferred by Sheriff Annella Cowan to obtain a criminal justice social work report on Gemmell. In Scotland, a child can apply for a provisional driving license at 15 years and 9 months old, but they cannot drive a car on public roads until they are 17. Children must use a car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall (4ft 4in), whichever comes first. There have been previous incidents in the UK where children have driven vehicles that have resulted in police taking action. A 12-year-old was accused of stealing a BMW X5 with a holiday caravan attached before taking it on a 40-mile joyride. The boy was allegedly spotted by police after driving at Garforth, outside Leeds, in March this year. Police following the boy said he was barely able to see over the wheel of the car. He was ordered to appear at Harrogate Magistrates' Court on charges of theft of a motor vehicle, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods but he failed to turn up and police had to issue an arrest warrant. When the caravan was stolen, its owner Janine Forth, of Leeds, took to Facebook to praise the 'amazing police response' after seeing the robbery unfold. She said: 'We arrived at the caravan site just as they had hitched it up and were driving away with it. The caravan had all the up-to -date security.' After the theft Sergeant Paul Cording said he 'struggled to comprehend' what he found when the car was pulled over, despite having 23 years of service in the police.
