Golf Clubs fear new drink driving limits

As we wrote recently, changes to the drink driving limits in Scotland from 80ml per 100ml of blood to 50mg, have had a really bad impact on Scottish golf clubs.

A few months after the limit was reduced in Scotland, Blairbeth Golf Club permanently shut down after 105 years in existence. Its captain, Davie McKay told Golf Club Management News that the new legislation played a major role in killing it off.

Duncan Hay, bar manager at Haddington Golf Club, stated: “I can go a day without serving any alcohol. People know police are out patrolling and are being extra careful.”

Some Scottish clubs have now applied for extended licenses so that their members can have a drink before playing golf, knowing that they will be able to walk off the alcohol over the course of their round

Now golf clubs in England and Wales fear for their futures as well, if proposals to cut the drink-driving limit to Scotland’s level are put in place.

UK transport minister Andrew Jones has said he will discuss the impact it has had on road safety with his Scottish counterpart, with a possible view to bringing in the change.

“It is important to base our decisions on evidence and the Scottish experience will be crucial to that before we consider any possible changes to limits in England and Wales,” he said.

With 50ml equating to a about a pint for a man and a small glass of wine for a woman, people are increasing conscious that there is now so little margin of error that they won’t even risk a half.

We hope common sense will prevail, and that the limits stay as they are as we think that the Scottish approach penalizes everyone, without tackling the real problem of the minority of hardcore offenders.