The new laws for drinking and driving start at midnight tonight. When police stop a car to test if the driver has been drinking, they use a breath test. The new limit is 250 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol instead of the old limit of 400mcg per 1 litre of breath. If a driver then has a blood test, the legal alcohol limit is 50 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100ml of blood instead of 80mg.
For a 70kg woman, that’s about 2 and a half drinks in 2 hours. For an 85kg man, it’s 3 and a half beers in that time. Most Asian people do not weigh so much which means less alcohol, or better still, no alcohol for drivers. Many young people now have a designated driver at parties, and that person does not drink alcohol at all so that he or she can drive friends home. Drivers under the age of 20 are not allowed to drink alcohol at all. Listen to August 7th 2011 to hear more about young drivers.
Many pubs now have low alcohol beer on tap. Some pubs also provide transport home for their patrons. Driving after visiting a pub is a big problem in rural areas where there is no other transport.
Anyone over the new limit but under the old limit will get a $200 fine and 5 demerit points. You lose your licence for 3 months if you have 100 demerit points.
Repeat offenders are a big problem. These are people who have been caught by police before, over the legal alcohol limit. The next step could be a lock on their car if they have been drinking. The car cannot start until after a breath test which shows they are under the legal alcohol limit.
December is always a busy time for traffic police because there are so many Christmas parties and other celebrations. Everyone needs to think about how they can get home safely after a party. They also need to think about the safety of other people on the road. Drunk drivers can be dangerous.
Vocabulary
• designated – one named person who chooses not to drink any alcohol on that occasion
• on tap – beer comes out of a tap at the bar instead of buying a bottle
• patrons – customers
• demerit – bad, opposite of merit (good)
• offenders – people who break the law
Question
Is drink-driving a problem in your country?