Government Plans to Lower Legal Blood Alcohol Limits for Drivers in Spain
The government is considering new measures to reduce accidents and deaths on Spain’s road by lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced plans to decrease the allowable blood alcohol concentration from 0.5 to 0.2 grams per litre.
Similarly, the limit for alcohol in exhaled air would drop from 0.25 to 0.10 milligrams per litre, as proposed by the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT).
Under current law, general drivers are allowed up to 0.5 g/l of alcohol in their blood, while novice and professional drivers have a lower threshold of 0.3 g/l. Although specific details for these groups were not mentioned, it is expected that they too will face stricter limits.
The decision comes in response to alarming statistics from the summer, when 241 people died on Spanish roads, with more than half of the accidents involving alcohol or drugs.
Grande-Marlaska emphasised that, while Spain has a lower road fatality rate than the European Union average, the government aims to further reduce the number of accidents.
