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BAA agrees to Heathrow watchdog 'Zero alcohol' for young drivers
(about 8 hours later)
Heathrow's owner says it will accept an independent body with the power to limit flights for environmental reasons - if its third runway is approved. Under-21s should be not be allowed a single drop of alcohol before driving, government advisors will recommend.
BAA also wants to be able to use both Heathrow's existing runways for take-offs and landings simultaneously. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will call on ministers to set a "zero rate" in England, Scotland and Wales in a report due in February 2009.
If it gets this concession, BAA says it will not increase flight numbers but use the extra capacity to cut delays. A spokesman for the council said it was "concerned about consumption of alcohol by young people when driving within the existing drink driving limits".
Campaigners say a third runway would have an impact on hundreds of thousands of homes and increase pollution. The government has said it has a "completely open mind" on the limit.
The entire village of Sipson, which has about 700 homes, would be destroyed and environmental campaigners oppose increased emissions from more flights. In the UK the blood alcohol limit currently stands at 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
The government says the plans will meet noise and air quality targets. On 20 November, Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick opened a consultation on reducing it.
BAA says if its third runway is approved, it will agree to the creation of an independent assessor with the power to stop flight numbers increasing if limits on noise and pollution are breached. 'Acceptable quantity'
But anti-expansion campaigners point to what BAA said while lobbying for its fifth Heathrow Terminal, which opened earlier this year. Alcohol bans for young drivers are in place across the continent, while states in Australia and the US have similar rules.
In 1999 BAA promised that if T5 was approved, it would not ask for a third runway. Government transport statistics show that 14 young drivers and their passengers die every week in Britain. By their nature, they are inexperienced drivers and not able to tolerate alcohol Caroline HealyACMD
If it gets the go-ahead, the new runway, which could be in operation by 2020, will be 2,200m long. An Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) working group has been undertaking a review of drink-driving legislation.
In September, BAA put Gatwick airport up for sale after the Competition Commission said the operator might have to sell three of its UK airports because of market dominance concerns. A spokesman for the group confirmed it was "looking at evidence from other European countries around the acceptable quantity of alcohol that a young person can drink while driving".
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the working group's chairman and ACMD council member Caroline Healy told a public meeting: "We feel that young people under the age of 21 should have a zero rate for alcohol if they are driving.
What do you think of the possibility of a third runway. Would environmental limitations make a difference? Send us your views using the form below: "By their nature, they are inexperienced drivers and not able to tolerate alcohol, and the combination of the two is dangerous."
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In July 2008, England's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson also called for the legal blood alcohol limit to be cut to zero for drivers aged 17 to 20.
Road safety charity Brake and the British Medical Association have also called for the law to be tightened.
According to the Telegraph, the ACMD's report will also call for calories to be placed on alcohol labels, a ban on selling strong lagers and beers and for drinks to be taxed on the basis of their strength.
In May 2008, the government reclassified cannabis as a class B drug despite an ACMD review - commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown - recommending that it should stay class C.