Why the drink-drive limit changes at the border

Scotland's drink-drive limit is lower than the limit in England and Wales, and has been for over a decade. If you drive between the two, the limit you are subject to changes when you cross the border. Most people never think about that until it matters. The UK government has now consulted on changing the limit in England and Wales, which has put the whole subject back in the news.

The drink-drive limit in Scotland is 50mg of alcohol in every 100ml of blood. In breath, that is 22mcg in every 100ml. In urine, 67mg in every 100ml.

Those limits came into effect on 5 December 2014, when the limit in Scotland was reduced from 80mg. The power to set the blood alcohol limit for driving in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Parliament by the Scotland Act 2012, so this is a decision made at Holyrood.

England and Wales are still at 80mg. That figure has not changed since 1967, and the UK government describes it as the highest in Europe.

The limit that applies is the limit for the road you are on, not the one where you live or where you set off. Someone driving up the M74, or north on the A1 at Berwick, or over the A68 or the A7, moves from one limit to the other partway through the journey. The same is true in reverse.

That catches people out in both directions. A driver who is comfortably within the limit in Carlisle is not automatically within it by the time they reach Gretna. And a Scottish driver used to the 50mg limit at home may not realise the rules are different once they are south of the border.

The morning after is where people get caught, and it is the part of this that gets least attention. In Scotland, with the lower limit, the margin is smaller than the one drivers south of the border have to work with.

We are not going to tell you how many drinks that means, because it is different for every person and any figure we gave you would be wrong for somebody reading this. The honest position is that if you were drinking the night before, you cannot know where you sit the next morning.

If you have been hit by someone who had been drinking, two separate things happen.

The first is the criminal case. That is a matter for the prosecution and the driver. You may be a witness to it, but it is not your case, and you do not control how it proceeds or how long it takes.

The second is your own claim for the damage to your vehicle, the cost of getting mobile again, and any injury. That is yours, and it runs on its own track.

You do not need a conviction to claim. The prosecution might take months. It might end in a guilty plea, it might not go ahead at all, and the outcome might land long after your car has been repaired. None of that stops you from starting a claim now. You can start a claim while the criminal case is still running.

What does help is evidence gathered early. Report the accident to Police Scotland and keep the incident reference number. Note whether officers attended, and what happened at the scene. Photograph the vehicles and the road layout. If there were witnesses, get their contact details before they leave. That is the same advice as after any accident, but it carries more weight when the other driver's condition is part of the picture. Our guide on what to do after a car accident in Scotland runs through the steps in order, and if it has only just happened our emergency page tells you what to do in the first hour.

On 7 January 2026 the UK government published its Road Safety Strategy, the first in more than a decade. It sets a target of cutting deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads by 65% by 2035, with a target of 70% for children under 16.

The strategy announces consultations. It is not enacted law. Nothing in it has changed the drink-drive limit anywhere in the UK.

One of those consultations was on lowering the drink-drive limit in England and Wales. It ran from 7 January 2026 to 11 May 2026. At the time of writing, in September 2026, no outcome has been announced.

The same strategy announced consultations on mandatory eyesight testing for drivers over 70, with options for cognitive testing also being developed; a minimum learning period of three or six months for learner drivers; alcohol interlock devices; and new powers to suspend driving licences.

Whatever comes of any of that, the limit in Scotland is set by the Scottish Parliament. A change in England and Wales would not, on its own, change the limit here.

We handle car accident claims across Scotland. If you have been hit by a driver who had been drinking, we deal with the other side's insurer, arrange a hire car where you are entitled to one, and take the running of the claim off your hands while the criminal side follows its own course.

We are a claims management company, not a law firm and not the police. None of the above is legal advice on your own situation. If you want to talk through what happened to you, get in touch and we will tell you where you stand.

You can start your claim here or call us on 0141 258 2030.

• UK Road Safety Strategy announcement, Department for Transport
• Drink-drive limit: policy, Scottish Government