Monday, 15 March 2010

The alcohol blame game !

The proposal by the Queensland government that the alcohol limit for drivers be reduced from .05 to .02 across Australia needs careful evaluation.

In recent years the death toll on our roads has increased. A lot of those deaths have been caused by alcohol impaired drivers, but in the majority of cases that impairment has been way over .05.

It seems to be a knee jerk reaction to suggest that if the permissible alcohol level is reduced to almost zero, this will have any effect on road casualties.

Not that long ago the alcohol limit was .08, which meant that a couple could share a bottle of wine over a meal - and still drive home legally.

The change to .05 put sharing a bottle of wine out of the question, and now the suggestion of .02 would make a single glass of wine or beer questionable.

It seems to be a case of making the average person a criminal for living what most people would consider a normal lifestyle. There is no evidence that a person driving at .05 is a at risk driver.

This suggestion seems to be a case of a desperate politician looking for an easy answer to deflect criticism. It would make more sense to go after those who drink and drive high range, confiscating cars for multiple offences - and requiring the installation of alcohol ignition meters for first offences.

02 simply takes aim at the wrong target !

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