WHAT do the countries of Estonia, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary have in common?

All of them have zero tolerance for drinking and driving and allow nothing more than a blood alcohol level of 0.0 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

At the other end of the drink-drive tolerance scale come the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Switzerland who all allow 0.8 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres.

I suppose some people might consider it good news is that fewer people died on Britain’s roads due to drinking and driving in 2008 than they did the year before.

But how can 430 lives ended and many more lives ruined among families and friends ever be considered positive news?

In 2007 alone, the number of casualties nationally from drinking and driving related incident was 14,480, of which 480 were fatal.

While such findings are hard to fathom, it will be so much tougher for the family of Dennis Watts to come to terms with the fact that the man who caused his death was three times over the limit and should never have been behind the wheel of that lorry.

The pint of beer which represents close to the amount of alcohol allowed here is something that too many drivers take too glibly. Plans to reduce the amount allowed may make some people think twice, but not enough of them.