Teenage drivers should be barred from drinking any alcohol, the Chief Medical Officer said yesterday.

Sir Liam Donaldson said that among drivers who drank up to the present limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood, the chances of an accident were two and a half times greater for teenagers than for older people.

Drivers aged 17 to 19 had 1,080 drink-drive accidents in 2005. Sir Liam, who presented his annual report yesterday, said that a zero alcohol limit for young drivers would help to reduce this figure. “I’m aware that this is a controversial recommendation, but I believe it will save lives,” he said.

There is, in effect, a zero limit for young and novice drivers in 14 European countries as well as in several Canadian provinces and Australian states.

There were technical problems with a zero limit – the alcohol content of some mouthwashes could give a false reading, for example, Sir Liam said – but he was confident that these could be dealt with. “Other countries that have introduced this measure have overcome these technical difficulties.”

Sir Liam’s call was backed by the road-safety charity Brake, Mary Williams, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Driving after drinking alcohol is extremely dangerous, causing hundreds of deaths each year, devastating families and friends across the country. Young, inexperienced drivers are particularly vulnerable road users, and this combined with alcohol quickly leads to tragedy.”

Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, said: “When people first learn to drive, their reflexes are not as fast. So anything that depresses performance has a greater effect.

“But we are not in favour of a zero limit – there has to be some flexibility to account for alcohol-based mouthwashes. But setting a very low level close to zero, yes.”

Adrian Tink, of the RAC, questioned whether a special limit for young drivers would help. “Motorists want it tougher but simpler,” he said. “Three quarters would back a 50mg limit, in line with the rest of Europe. A special rule for young drivers brings in complexity. Do you potentially start catching drivers who aren’t drink-driving?

“A reduction to 50mg would mean a half of lager or a small glass of wine – or nothing at all to drink. But a two-tier system makes things complicated again, and that wouldn’t be helpful.”

The Department for Transport said: “Drink-driving ruins lives and we take it extremely seriously. That is why we have invested in 30 years of education campaigns and introduced measures to improve enforcement. As a result, the number of people killed in drink-drive accidents each year has fallen by two thirds since 1979.

“We know more can be done to tackle this serious issue. We are considering a range of options.”

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats’ transport spokesman, said: “There is a real argument to lower the drink-driving limit for all motorists to 50mg, in line with many European countries. But a zero limit risks criminalising those whose driving is not impaired.

“Young drivers could face legal problems because they have had a couple of drinks the night before or used alcohol in cooking. The answer is a lower limit for all drivers,” Mr Baker said.

Mike Pickard, of the insurance company esure, said: “We welcome Liam Donaldson’s proposal and hope the Government will act on it quickly.

“Drivers under 21 account for just 3 per cent of the driving population but are responsible for over 12 per cent of all convictions for driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

“What’s more, young men are ten times more likely to be convicted than young women so the problem is massively swayed by young males simply not knowing when to stop. “ A ‘zero tolerance’ approach to alcohol will help to remove a temptation that can easily escalate into fatal consequences because young drivers are more prone to peer pressure and risk-taking.”

Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, called for evidence. He said: “The Government should seek evidence to show whether or not a proposal to change the legal blood alcohol level limit for young drivers would improve road safety and not have a perverse effect after the age threshold.

“This new proposal is no substitute for tackling the root causes of spiralling public health problems.”

Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among 16 to 18 year-olds, including passengers and pedestrians. Sir Liam’s report focuses on teenagers, a group often neglected because they tend to enjoy good health. But for them, risk-taking was “a rite of passage” and although the proportion involved in accidents or ill-health was small, the numbers were large.

Sir Liam called for a national meeting on health services for teenagers and more involvement of teenagers in the design of health services.

“Young people are exposed to behaviours, opportunities and products that have the capacity to harm their health in the short and long term,” he said.

“Habits adopted in the teenage years can form behaviour for a lifetime – for example, adolescent binge drinkers are twice as likely as their peers to be dependent on alcohol or taking illicit drugs by the time they reach 30.”

Alcohol and accidents

— Transport statistics show 14 young drivers and their passengers die every week in Britain

— One in five drivers aged 17-18 admits drink driving, according to a survey published in 2007

— Lack of experience is the main reason for the higher accident rate in young drivers. For those who pass at 17, accident rates fall by 43 per cent after a year of driving

— The early hours of the morning are the worst. Male drivers aged 17-20 have 17 times the risk of accidents between 2am and 5am than all male drivers

— Young women aged 17-20 have between two and three times the risk of all women, whatever the time of day

— Drivers aged 17-19 have 24 drink-drive injury accidents per 100 million miles. For 20 to 24-year-olds the rate is 16, for 25-29-year-olds 9 and for all ages of driver 5

— The breath-test failure rate is 3.5 per cent for under-20s. For 20 to 24-year-olds it is 5 per cent and for 25 to 29-year-olds 3.9 per cent

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