New lower drink-drive limit for Scotland is to be delayed by nearly a year.

Scotland will face a longer wait before the new lower drink-drive limit is introduced in the country.

Scottish Government plans to crack down on drinking driving have been delayed by up to a year. New guidelines will see a reduction in the legal drink-drive limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Delays to the timeline set out by UK Policing and Criminal Justice Minister, Damian Green, were reportedly blamed on Whitehall experts who require all breath-testing equipment to be re-calibrated against new limits

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “As a lower limit cannot be brought in until the necessary approvals are obtained through the UK Government, we have made clear to the UK Government that we view introducing a lower limit in Scotland as a key priority which we want to introduce as soon as possible.”

When the new legal limit comes into place it is expected to save around 17 lives a year on Scotland’s roads - it will also see Scotland join countries such as Denmark, France, Italy and the Netherlands who also feature a limit of 50mg per 100ml of blood.

It is hard to pinpoint how much a person would need to drink to be considered over the legal driving limit as amounts can vary greatly from person to person. Factors such as weight, gender, metabolism, age and even stress levels would determine the effects of alcohol on ability.

Drinkaware recommend the “only safe advice is to avoid any alcohol” if driving.

Superintendent Iain Murray, head of road policing for Police Scotland, supports the proposal to lower the prescribed limit in Scotland and insisted that “there is no such as thing as a ‘safe’ drink-drive limit”.

It is hoped that the new limit will be introduced as soon as possible.

Frontline Safety offer a wide range of alcohol and drug detection equipment for both personal and business use. For further information visit www.frontline-safety.co.uk or contact us on [email protected].