Big fall in offences follows lower Scots drink drive limits

Drink driving offences in Scotland are down by nearly twice as much as in the rest of the UK since the lower alcohol limits were intoduced north of the border, according to new figures.

Between December 2014, when the new limits came into force, and August 2015, offending was down by 12.5% in Scotland compared with the same period the previous year, and by 6.6% across the rest of the UK. 

The limit in Scotland is now 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, or 22 microgrammes in 100ml of breath, compared with 80mg and 35 microgrammes respectively elsewhere. Many Scots now avoid alcohol altogether before driving, believing that a single drink could put them over the limit.

Convictions were down across the country, except in Renfrew & Inverclyde which showed a 4.7% increase. The biggest drop was in Dumfries & Galloway, at 56%.