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No alcohol for young drivers call No alcohol for young drivers call
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The legal blood alcohol limit should be reduced to zero in England for drivers aged 17 to 20, the country's chief medical officer has urged. The legal blood alcohol limit should be cut to zero for drivers aged 17 to 20, England's chief medical officer says.
Sir Liam Donaldson said in his annual report that although there was a risk the move would be unpopular among young people, it would improve road safety.Sir Liam Donaldson said in his annual report that although there was a risk the move would be unpopular among young people, it would improve road safety.
Government transport statistics show more than 14 young drivers and their passengers die every week in Britain. Drink-drive laws are under review in the UK with data showing 14 youngsters die each week in car accidents.
The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. His report also highlights a range of teenage health issues as well as surgery safety and high cancer rates.
The move would not require a major increase in policing, Sir Liam added. The legal limit in the UK is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, which is much higher than many other European countries.
Alcohol bans for young drivers are also in place across the continent, while states in Australia and the US have similar rules.
Sir Liam said such a move here would not require a major increase in policing and would represent a "sensible public health measure".
Young people have enough difficulty when they first start driving learning the skills on the road, they don't need the complication of drink as well Professor Sir Liam DonaldsonChief Medical Officer for EnglandYoung people have enough difficulty when they first start driving learning the skills on the road, they don't need the complication of drink as well Professor Sir Liam DonaldsonChief Medical Officer for England
He said it would be a "sensible public health measure" that would save lives. There were over 1,000 drink-drive accidents involving teenagers last year, while transport accidents are a leading cause of death for that age group.
He said road traffic accidents were a significant cause of death among young people. Research shows that alcohol use increases the risk of a crash for young drives 2.5 times more than it does for older drives.
Sir Liam told the BBC: "We know that even without alcohol young people are more likely to have an accident because they are inexperienced drivers, and then even with them driving within the alcohol limit they are much more likely to have an accident than an older driver within the alcohol limit. Sir Liam told the BBC: "Young people have enough difficulty when they first start driving learning the skills on the road, they don't need the complication of drink as well."
"Young people have enough difficulty when they first start driving learning the skills on the road, they don't need the complication of drink as well." There have been several calls in recent years to tighten up the UK's drink driving laws led by the road safety charity Brake and British Medical Association.
Road safety charity Brake has previously called on the government to introduce a graduated driver licensing scheme, similar to those operating in New Zealand, Canada and the US, to tackle the problem. A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: "Drink-driving ruins lives and we take it extremely seriously.
The scheme typically includes a minimum learner-driver period and a novice-driver period after practical and theory tests have been passed. "We know more can be done and are currently considering a range of options."
There can also be restrictions on driving at night and carrying passengers. Sir Liam's report also dealt with wider teenage health issues.
He called for a national summit to address high levels of risky behaviour in what he called the big six - smoking, alcohol and drugs, accidents and violence, diet, physical activity and sexual health.
He said: "Habits adopted in the teenage years can form behaviour for a life time."
Trend
And the report called for more research into why the UK has some of the highest rates of oesophageal cancer in Europe. The disease kills 6,000 people a year - double the European average.
Sir Liam pointed out that the rate was rising and experts were struggling to understand the causes for this trend.
And his report also said more attention should be paid to surgical errors.
Sir Liam admitted the UK has some of the safest practices, but added there were still nearly 130,000 errors last year.
It comes after he spoke on Sunday about another theme in his report - hospital infections.
He said a vaccine for MRSA and Clostridium difficile could be just 10 years away.