Congress has taken a key step to harden alcohol restrictions at the wheel in Spain. The lower house has taken into consideration a proposition of the law of the PSOE that raises not only reduce the maximum alcohol rate in blood at 0.2 g/l but also prohibit the dissemination of police controls on social networks. The text has advanced with a single vote against Vox and the abstention of the PP.
The current limits in Spain. The breathalyzer rate measures the blood alcohol level and is expressed in grams per liter of blood (g/l) or in milligrams per liter of exhaled air (mg/l). According to the DGT, the current legal limit is 0.5 g/l in blood and 0.25 mg/l in exhaled air for drivers in general. However, novels and professionals have more severe restrictions: 0.3 g/l in blood and 0.15 mg/l in exhaled air.
What does the initiative say. The proposition of the PSOE unifies rates for all drivers, regardless of their age or permission. Thus, consider as severe infraction driving with alcohol rates greater than 0.2 g/l in blood or 0.1 mg/l in exhaled air. These are “some measures whose objective is ‘to put a brake’ to a dramatic reality that, year after year, leaves behind a trail of avoidable deaths,” said the parliamentary group.
The text establishes the following infractions scheme and points out that “the infractions provided for in article 77c) when the alcohol rate exceeds 0.5 milligrams per liter of exhaled air or 1 grams per liter in blood, yd) will be sanctioned with a fine of 1,000 euros”.
- Driving with an alcohol rate greater than 0.1 to 0.25 mg/0.2 to 0.5 g/l: Loss of 2 points of the card.
- Driving with an alcohol rate greater than 0.25 to 0.50 mg/0.5 up to 1.0 g/l: loss of 4 points of the card.
- Driving with an alcohol rate greater than 0.5 mg/lo 1.0 g/l: loss of 6 points of the card.
With the proposed limit, a beer could already mark positive. The Ministry of Health points out that the liver can only metabolize 0.12 g/l of blood alcohol every hour. Therefore, if the new limits are applied, drinking a third of beer could cause an breathalyzer control to be overcome if the necessary time of metabolization has not passed, which is usually 1 hour and 45 minutes in men and 2 hours and 50 minutes in women.
What do studies say? The promoters of the proposition have provided data from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences. According to the agency, 33% of the drivers who died in traffic accidents had alcohol in blood. Also 29% of pedestrians who died on Spanish roads had consumed alcohol or drugs. In addition, the State Attorney General’s Office indicates that in 2023 more than 50,000 criminal convictions were registered for driving with an alcohol rate higher than permitted.
But there is more. As we indicated above, it is also sought to prohibit the dissemination of the location of alcohol and drug controls in social networks. In this case, the objective is to prevent mobiles from being used “as an instrument to protect the impunity of a minority of dangerous and contumaces.” It is a problem that has been staging for some time and has become a true headache for the DGT.
The process is still underway. Taking into consideration of the proposition of the PSOE law is an advance, but does not mean its approval. We will have to wait for the next plenary to know if the reduction of the alcohol rate will obtain its definitive ratification.
Images | La Moncloa | DGT
In WorldOfSoftware | The government is willing to lower the breathalyzer rate at the wheel. The question is why not completely eliminate it
