Dorset's police and crime commissioner is calling on the public to have their say on the drink drive limit.

The call comes as a survey by the AA revealed that out of more than 18,500 drivers in the UK, 17 per cent reported a greater expectation to consume alcohol before driving during the festive period.

Martyn Underhill said: “Already in 2017, Dorset has sadly seen the number of road deaths reach a higher level than for the full year of 2016.

"Over a quarter of these fatalities involved a motorist driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both.

“In England and Wales, the limit for drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of blood in the body. This is the most generous legal drink drive threshold in Europe.

“The law should give drivers clear and conclusive guidance on how much alcohol they can safely and legally consume.

"As it stands, the generous limit creates confusion. Drivers are left to guess at how much alcohol is acceptable and whether a half pint more will send them over the limit. Nobody can conclusively say how much is too much.

“In contrast, the lower limit adopted by many European countries means that one drink could cost you your licence. I believe that adopting this in England and Wales would more effectively deter motorists from drinking at all before getting behind the wheel.

“Although lobbying from various quarters has failed to gain traction in Government, I remain strongly convinced that we should not underestimate the impact that the current limit has on road safety.

“On behalf of all Dorset residents, I intend to continue to lobby Government to rethink this issue and I am keen to ensure that the views of local people are at the forefront of discussions.”

Mr Underhill is therefore asking for residents to complete a survey at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6TQ33FR.