Swiss drivers believe that the chances of being ventilated are slim. At the same time, a high proportion remains at the limit. However, a significant proportion exceed the limit. There is little support for a ban on drinking and driving. Alcohol consumption is mostly moderate. However, there may be differences between the French German and Italian-speaking regions of the country. Below is a list of countries and jurisdictions around the world and the corresponding legal blood alcohol limit for each country/jurisdiction. The blood alcohol limit defines the maximum legal amount of alcohol that can be found in the blood so that people can legally drive in any country and jurisdiction. Traffic laws are based on states or territories, but all states and territories have similar rules.

As shown in Table 8, per capita alcohol consumption varies considerably from country to country. Interestingly, few countries have introduced lower BCAs for drivers of commercial vehicles or vehicles used in public transport. This contrasts with laws in the United States regarding commercial drivers, where any alcohol present removes the driver from service for 24 hours and a blood alcohol level of 0.04 is a violation of the law. The results of the law overview show some of the main differences between countries and some of the contrasts between the United States and other countries. Key findings include: Many countries are currently participating in international trade agreements. The North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union may have an impact on alcohol policies and laws related to impaired driving (Vingilis, Lote& Seeley, 1998). For example, a policy that restricts the availability of alcohol and imposes high taxes in some Scandinavian countries is threatened by free trade agreements. The abolition of alcohol monopolies in Sweden, Norway and Finland is expected to increase consumption by almost 100%, with a dramatic increase in alcohol-related deaths. BAC laws can also be amended through trade agreements. In 1989, the European Commission proposed harmonising the maximum blood alcohol level at 0.05%. This would require the border to be lowered in some countries and increased in others.

Similarly, legislation on commercial transport is being harmonised. These laws include regulations regarding the use of drugs and alcohol by commercial drivers and the random sampling required and testing of drivers` causes. Any review of applicable laws must take into account the potential impact of free trade agreements. To help you navigate the different laws around the world, we`ve put together a map that shows the legal alcohol laws in the world country by country, so you can safely plan a trip you`ll remember – and not one you should forget! If your trip takes you across a border, you need to make sure that you also know the laws of that country. A completely legal blood alcohol level (BAC) in one country may be above the limit in a neighboring country. A twelve-hour road trip from Tromsø, Norway to Murmansk, Russia takes you through four countries with three different alcohol limits. In the UK, the legal driving limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 0.08% BAC – but the limit is lower in Scotland at 0.05%. Further work is needed to collect and interpret information on laws, alcohol-related accidents and data quality. By carefully analyzing this information, the relationship between impaired driving laws and alcohol-related traffic accidents can be better understood. This analysis can contribute to the improvement of laws and guidelines. For some countries, of course, the laws are not standard at the national level, but vary from state to state.

If this is the case, the information on each subnational entity shall be reported separately. As mentioned above for driver`s license laws, some countries have introduced a lower blood alcohol level for young drivers. Such laws have been shown to be effective in the United States in reducing alcohol-related accidents among young drivers (Hingson et al. 1994, Blomberg 1992). In 1996, a consortium of European road safety agencies sponsored the second survey on social attitudes towards road traffic risks in Europe (SARTRE). Fifteen European countries participated in the survey (SARTRE 1998). Survey agencies in each country surveyed a representative sample of about 1,000 drivers with a driver`s license (who had driven a motor vehicle in the past year) about their attitudes and behaviour while driving, seat belt use, speed, alcohol consumption and other related topics. Before you travel, remember that laws are constantly changing and these legal blood alcohol limits may have been updated since this article. Much of the progress made in reducing driving over the past decade or more has been facilitated by lessons learned from other countries.

It is therefore both timely and appropriate for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make a systematic effort to gather information on impaired driving laws in countries around the world.