Pubs blamed in drink-drive row

Eighty per cent of motorists are unaware of the legal drink-driving limit and once again blame has been laid at the feet of the pub trade.

Research by the Royal Automobile Association (RAC) says that the drinks trade has caused confusion by flooding the market with more types of drink than ever before. It says that pubs serving premium lagers, upsized measures of wine and, in some cases, double measures as standard are making it harder for drivers to stay within the legal guidelines.

The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood, which the government says is around two pints of beer for the average male.

The survey says that the result is that motorists do not know what constitutes one unit of alcohol, so they could be drinking more than they realise before getting into their cars.

The RAC is calling on the government to work with the drinks trade to improve the labelling on alcohol, so people know how much is too much.

The RAC view has been supported by the chairman of the Campaign Against Drinking and Driving Mike Jobbins. "Drinks manufacturers should behave more responsibly, letting the consumer know what a unit is and how much is contained in a bottle," he said.

"But we should also point the finger at the government. With the amount they are getting in tax from the industry, they should be putting some back into educating people on alcohol."

But Paul Flanagan, commercial PR manager for Diageo GB, has refuted the accusations. He said: "Every single one of our bottled brands has unit measures on it. Consumers are fully aware of the unit value of what they are drinking."

Yvonne Ward, licensee of the Brown Cow in Ackworth, near Pontefract, Yorkshire, said: "People in our pub are well aware of the measures we use. We have 35ml measures for our spirits, but we tell the customer this and that a double will take them over the drink-drive limit.

"There's been enough publicity on drink-drive limits. I don't see how people can turn round and blame pubs, licensees and barstaff - we're the easy target, as usual."

Mark Hastings, head of communications for the British Beer & Pub Association, agrees. "We have been very consistent over more than 40 years of campaigning," he said. "We simply say if you're going to drive, don't drink.

"The responsibility of how much people drink before they drive rests with the customer, not the pub. No amount of alcohol is 'safe'."

Drinks watchdog The Portman Group encourages people who plan to drink to take a designated non-drinking driver with them.

Jim Minton, director of campaigns and communications for The Portman Group, said: "We are encouraging our member companies, and other drinks producers, to put unit labelling on drinks products wherever possible.

"However, the discussion about units is a separate issue from drink-driving, where our advice is very clear: if you want to stay out of trouble, don't drink and drive."

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