Nurses urge: Ban drinking before driving completely
With the number of car accidents and accident claims rising year by year, nurses today called for a complete ban on drinking alcohol before driving.
They demanded that the drink amount allowed before driving should be cut to zero, in order to prevent hundreds of road deaths and personal injury cases each year.
One nurse said that cars turned into 'potential killing machines' by drinkers, while another said the number of deaths and injuries were 'horrifying'.
Several nurses attending the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) conference backed the motion. It is reported that the issue has been referred to the RCN council for further consideration.
Most European countries have a limit of 50mg or under. Only the UK, Ireland, and Malta have an 80mg limit.
Consuming only one unit of alcohol leads people to make poor judgments when driving and personal injuries, said the nurses.
"The average person does not choose their drink based on units," said one nurse. "It's usually colour, price or flavour."
The call comes after a study showed that 3,000 people receieve serious injuries due to drink-driving accidents in the UK.
Many lawyers agreed and said that accident claims were on the rise and that 'beer and traffic don't mix'.
Updated on 4/29/2010