The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) have announced the possibility of a reduction in the maximum alcohol level for driving. It will be discussed as part of the upcoming public consultation on the National Road Safety Strategy.
On Tuesday, the Spanish parliament approved, in a first vote (not yet final), a proposal, to reduce the maximum amount of alcohol currently permitted in drivers' blood from 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood to 0.2 grams.
The matter will soon be the subject of broad and systemic reflection, through public consultation, within the scope of the National Road Safety Strategy Vision Zero 2030”, stated the ANSR.
The National Road Safety Strategy - Vision Zero 2030, which aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the road by 50% by 2030, should have already been approved by the previous socialist government. ANSR prepared the document in 2023 and forwarded it to the then supervisory authority, but the strategy has not yet left the drawing board.
According to the proposal approved by the Spanish parliament, the 0.2 gram rate will be applied to all drivers in Spain, regardless of their profession, or the age of their driving license.
The Spanish proposal stated that alcohol or drugs "are the main causes of road accidents worldwide" and that in countries such as Sweden and Norway, "world leaders in road safety", the maximum level is already 0.2 grams per litre of blood, which is also recommended by international organisations, which understand that "this limit is equivalent to zero tolerance".
In Portugal, the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.5 grams for most drivers and 0.2 g/l for professional drivers and those with a provisional driving license.
According to the Highway Code, driving with a blood alcohol level between 0.5 and 0.8 is a serious offence, and between 0.8 and 1.2 is a very serious offence. If the level is greater than or equal to 1.2 grams, it is considered a crime and is punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year.
ANSR indicates that alcohol is one of the main causes of road accidents in Portugal, along with speeding, distraction, mobile phone use, failure to comply with traffic rules and fatigue.
According to ANSR, research carried out over several decades on the influence of alcohol on the ability to drive reveals that “this is mainly impaired due to disturbances in cognitive aspects and information processing that lead, among other effects, to reduced decision-making capacity and speed, increased reaction time and lack of coordination of movements”.
“This loss of abilities, as well as changes in behaviour that can lead to states of euphoria and disinhibition, significantly increase the risk of being involved in road accidents,” says this organisation, highlighting that alcohol can also reduce the motivation to comply with safety standards, which can result in an active search for dangerous situations, in addition to a decrease in concentration, visual field, awareness of distances, speed and reflexes.
The ANSR also indicates that “the incapacity caused by alcohol is an important factor that influences both the risk of road accidents and the severity of injuries resulting from accidents”, with drivers with alcohol in their blood “having a much greater risk of being involved in accidents than those who do not”.
“With the increase in blood alcohol content (BAC), not only does the accident rate increase, but also the severity of the accident. The probability of a driver with a BAC of 1.5 g/l being involved in an accident with casualties is 22 times greater than that of a sober driver and the probability of resulting in an accident with fatalities is around 200 times greater”, explains ANSR.
The latest ANSR report on driving under the influence of alcohol, for 2022, indicates that in that year there were 2,904 accidents with victims in the country, in which at least one of the drivers involved had a BAC equal to or greater than 0.50 grams.
According to this report, drivers are the main victims of alcohol-related accidents, accounting for around three-quarters of fatalities and serious injuries.
In 2022, drivers with a BAC equal to or greater than 0.50 g/l (a value higher than the legal limit) accounted for 116 fatalities, 385 serious injuries and 1,812 minor injuries in mainland Portugal.
According to estimates by the European Commission, 25% of deaths on the roads of the European Union are related to alcohol.
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/ - photo by GNR
