SPAIN is set to revive plans for some of Europe’s strictest drink-driving rules after 240 people were killed on the country’s roads this summer.
The ruling PSOE party has announced it will again try to push through a dramatic cut to the legal alcohol limit, meaning drivers could effectively be restricted to little more than one beer before getting behind the wheel.
The left-wing party is expected to present the proposal to Spain’s parliament in the coming days, after an earlier attempt was rejected by MPs in March.
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Under the proposed rules, the general limit would be slashed from 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood to 0.2g/l.
With the current 0.5g/l limit, a single beer may leave many drivers below the legal threshold, although a second drink could be enough to push some people over it.
However, the new limit would be so strict that even one beer or glass of wine could be enough to leave some drivers over the legal threshold, depending on factors including body weight, sex, food intake, drinking speed and metabolism.
The equivalent breathalyser limit would fall from 0.25mg to 0.10mg of alcohol per litre of exhaled air, bringing Spain much closer to a near-zero tolerance approach to drinking and driving.
The government has repeatedly argued that reducing the limit could save lives, with Spain’s traffic authority, the DGT, backing the measure as a ‘moral’ duty.
The proposal was previously defeated in parliament in March after the right-wing Partido Popular (PP) and Vox voted against it, blocking the PSOE’s attempt to cut the limit.
The latest push comes after 240 people were killed in 218 fatal crashes during July and August, according to the DGT.
A further 926 people were hospitalised following crashes during the two-month period.
The death toll was 4% higher than last summer, with the DGT saying alcohol is a factor in around three in ten fatal road crashes in Spain.
August was particularly deadly, with 130 people killed on the roads, 15 more than during the same month last year.
While not all of the crashes have been linked to alcohol, supporters of tougher rules argue that even small amounts can increase the risk of a collision by impairing reaction times, concentration and judgement.
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