The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has supported this Thursday the initiation of parliamentary procedures to lower the blood alcohol level, considering that “Spanish society is mature” enough to accept this change and further reduce road traffic incidents.
The announcement was made at a Forum Europa Information Breakfast and sources from the Ministry of the Interior have explained that the intention is that, assuming the proposal of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), the general rate will be reduced to 0.2 grams per litre of alcohol in the blood, compared to the current 0.5.
According to these sources, the change would be implemented through article 20 of the general traffic regulations, which would imply the concurrence of the different parliamentary forces for it to be approved and for Spain to align itself with other countries such as Sweden. In June, the measure of the reduction was already proposed, but for novice and professional drivers.
Grande-Marlaska said that the Interior Ministry is supporting this change in response to the requests of associations affected by “road violence”, which has left 241 people dead this past summer. “In more than half of the accidents, alcohol or drugs appear as a determining factor,” he stressed to justify the measure.
For this reason, he has expressed his support for “tackling the debate” that includes both the reduction of alcohol rates and voluntary courses to recover points on the driving licence.
Grande-Marlaska has taken stock of the gradual reduction in road deaths since the points-based driving licence was introduced, with a current level of 36 deaths per million inhabitants compared to the European Union average of 47 deaths. The challenge now, he said, is to match countries like Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
