Direct Line Car Insurance is supporting a government-commissioned report calling for the drink-drive limit in the UK to be nearly halved. Sir Peter North’s review suggests the limit be lowered to 50mg per 100ml of blood, down from the current 80mg.

Research recently carried out by Direct Line and road safety charity Brake revealed drivers are also overwhelmingly in favour of a lower drink-drive limit, with 71% agreeing that the limit should be cut. Research indicates that a driver with this much alcohol in their blood is five times more likely to crash than if they were driving without any alcohol in their system.

More than half of drivers (55%) support Direct Line and Brake’s calls for a limit of 20mg alcohol per 100ml blood or lower, while a further 16% favour a limit of 50mg; the maximum limit recommended by the European Commission.

Andy Goldby, director of motor underwriting at Direct Line Insurance, said: “Drink driving is one of the most serious crimes a driver can commit and one that needs to be tackled with real conviction. If we are to make any headway into achieving our goal of the safest roads in the world, we need to ensure that the right laws, limits and learning are in place here in the UK.

“Unfortunately, drink driving is only one of the social problems that we need to address to make our roads safer. However, as our research suggests, any increase in penalties or decrease in the alcohol limit has the overwhelming support of British road users.”