Spain’s Effort to Tighten Drink-Driving Laws Stalls Amid Lobbying Accusations
Madrid, Spain – A proposal to significantly lower the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in Spain has been rejected by a parliamentary committee, sparking accusations of political influence from the ruling Socialist party. The vote Wednesday in the home affairs committee of the Spanish Congress dealt a blow to efforts to improve road safety, with the government now vowing to pursue the measure further.
The rejected proposal sought to reduce the maximum permitted blood alcohol level from 0.5 grams per litre to 0.2, aligning it with stricter standards and eliminating discrepancies for new and professional drivers. It also aimed to curb the online sharing of police checkpoint locations.
The measure failed with 19 votes against and 18 in favour, opposed by the Popular Party (PP), Vox, Catalan ERC, and Navarre UPN. The bill had faced delays for over a year, stalled by ongoing negotiations between parliamentary groups.
Following the vote, the PSOE, as the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is known, publicly accused the PP and Vox of yielding to pressure from “the beer and wine lobbies.” Socialist Deputy Manuel Arribas emphasized the human cost of drunk driving, stating, “Today was not a political debate… Today, what we were debating is who decides that, having had a few drinks or a few beers, someone gets behind the wheel and takes the lives of innocent people.”
The Ministry of the Interior has indicated it remains committed to lowering the limit, despite the parliamentary setback. “The reduction in the limit has not been approved by parliament… but the direction is clear,” a ministry statement affirmed.
The PSOE intends to reintroduce the initiative to the House of Deputies, seeking to overcome the opposition and enact the changes. The current legal limit in Spain allows for a blood alcohol content of 0.5 grams per litre – a level higher than many other European countries.
This defeat for the Socialists comes as the party navigates a challenging political landscape, recently suffering losses in regional elections, as reported by POLITICO. The outcome underscores the difficulties in enacting progressive legislation in a fragmented parliament.
