Teen drivers 'should face zero drink limits'

Teenagers taking to the road should face zero drink-drive limits in an attempt to reduce accidents, the country's chief medical officer said.

Teenage motorists are most likely to take risks and be involved in road accidents because of their inexperience, Liam Donaldson added.

The risks could be reduced for 17 to 20-year-olds if alcohol was taken out of the equation.

"We know that even without alcohol, young people are more likely to have an accident because they are inexperienced drivers and even with them driving within the alcohol limit, they are much more likely to have an accident than an older driver within the alcohol limit," he told BBC television.

"Young people have enough difficulty when they first start driving with their inexperience, learning the skills on the road - they don't need the complication of drink as well."

The legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers aged between 17 and 20 should be reduced to zero, he said.

Currently, the limit for all drivers is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Donaldson acknowledged there could be some technical problems, such as if someone had eaten food or used a mouthwash containing alcohol, but added these issues had been overcome where similar measures have been introduced.

"I feel that this measure is about saving lives as well as harm to teenagers and also those who they might affect if they are driving a car when they are drunk, and I believe that this would be a sensible public health measure," he said.

The RAC motoring organisation said a two-tier system could further complicate drink driving limits, which some people already find confusing.

"The drink-drive limit should be lowered for everyone," spokeswoman Liz Kennett said.

Donaldson's proposal came in a wide-ranging annual health report which focused on teenage binge drinking, drug taking and unsafe sex.

The report called for a national teenage health summit and a young person's panel to offer advise on national campaigns.

"Adolescence . is a period in which teenagers encounter risks and make hard choices," Donaldson said during the launch of the report.

"Habits adopted in the teenage years can form behaviour for a lifetime. The effects of poor health in adolescence can last a lifetime, and even shorten it."