A SINGLE pint of beer could be enough to put motorists over the drink-drive limit, if a crackdown backed by some MPs is approved.

Proposals for much tougher drink-driving laws will be raised in the Commons today, along with calls for warnings on alcoholic drinks similar to those on cigarette packets, it was reported yesterday.

National media yesterday reported that the proposals to be tabled include reducing the drink-drive limit from 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood to 50mg per 100ml, which could mean a single pint of a strong lager or a large glass of wine could put a driver over the limit.

The suggestions are in a new manifesto by the All Party Parliamentary Group On Alcohol Misuse.

Tim Madgwick, North Yorkshire's Deputy Chief Constable, called earlier this summer for stricter limits and tougher punishments for drink-drivers.

Writing in The Press in June, he called for a zero-tolerance limit of 20mg per 100ml of breath, which allows only for naturally-occurring blood alcohol.

He said: "Our current drink drive law asks people who have been drinking to guess whether they are over the limit, and whether they are safe to drive. In practice, this is impossible. All the research shows even small amounts of alcohol, less than the legal limit, can severely impact your judgement and reactions and make you more likely to crash. We should not be sending the misleading message that under the limit means safe – we should be absolutely clear: not a drop for the road."