The Government is studying the drink-drive laws of other European countries in a consultation exercise which may lead to a change in legislation.

The systems being looked at by ministers include a two-tier penalty system operated in countries including France, where motorists exceeding a lower limit are given lighter punishments.

However, Whitehall sources are denying that this is a concrete proposal and said they were looking at all available options for reducing the number of deaths from drink-driving.

Consultation exercise

A Government spokesman said a consultation document would be published in the next few weeks. "This will deal with the drink-drive limit and enforcement and punishments. We are looking at a number of other systems and it is the case that a two-tier system does exist in some EU countries," he said.

"This is a consultation exercise and as one would expect we are looking at all the options, but this is not a proposal at the moment."

The three-month consultation exercise is thought to involve considering lowering the current blood alcohol limit of 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to just 50mg. That would bring British law in line with many other EU countries, although Britain imposes far more disqualifications than other states.

British penalties toughest in the EU

British drink-drive offenders are automatically given a one-year disqualification if convicted over the 80mg limit. If the limit is lowered, it will be the first reduction in 30 years and would mean that drivers could risk being over the limit after just one pint of beer.

In France, which has a 50mg limit, offenders at the lower end of the scale are given only endorsements or fines. A one-year disqualification is often only imposed if a driver exceeds 300mg.

The Netherlands only imposes higher sentences if a drink-driver has an accident, and in Belgium drivers over 50mg are fined �120 but are banned only until they are capable of driving again - usually within 24 hours.
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