Tough new laws to clamp down on drink-driving will have no impact unless they are enforced, according to one road safety expert.And Dr Joseph Froncioni of alcohol awareness group CADA — Encouraging Responsible Alcohol Behaviour said roadside sobriety checkpoints were needed to instil “the fear of getting caught” in motorists tempted to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.Dr Froncioni spoke out following Friday’s announcement that Government is preparing legislation to tackle the Island’s culture of drink-driving and speeding.The proposals include reducing the legal drink-drive alcohol limit from 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood to just 40 milligrams, allowing roadside breathalyser readings to be admissible in court as evidence, and setting up a network of speed cameras that will snare speeding motorists in the act.Although Dr Froncioni applauded both roadside breath-testing and speed cameras, he questioned whether reducing the legal drink-drive limit would encourage motorists to change their behaviour.He suggested that motorists who currently flout the law will continue to do so regardless of what the legal limit is — unless they believe there was a strong likelihood of them being apprehended.“Reducing the blood alcohol limit will not do anything unless it is enforced and, at the moment, there’s little or no enforcement of the laws,” Dr Froncioni said.“Introducing new laws and enforcing them are two different things, and what we really need to do is, rather than changing the law, enforce the laws we already have.“What we really need is a deterrent that is effective, and that has to be the fear of getting caught.“There is very little in the way of police visibility on the roads at the moment and that’s one of the major reasons why people disregard the law. We can change that if we introduce tried and tested methods like sobriety checkpoints.”Dr Froncioni said strict guidelines to prevent traffic police from profiling motorists would need to be observed if the checkpoints were introduced.But the knowledge that motorist stood an increased chance of getting stopped and breathalysed — and a greater risk of losing their licence if over the limit — would make drinkers think twice about driving.“The idea isn’t to catch people — it’s to prevent them drink-driving in the first place,” he said.“We need to set up these checkpoints and then publicise them — make every motorist aware that the police are out there in force and will be conducting breath tests.“The idea of having a lower limit is nothing new, but having the current level of 0.8 percent does give citizens some chance to use their common sense.Reducing it to 0.4 percent is virtually zero tolerance and that’s something that I don’t necessarily agree with.“And besides, bringing down the level is not going to change anything unless it is enforced.”Dr Froncioni acknowledged that police currently do not have the funds or manpower for such a scheme, but argued that costs would be recouped if the number of road fatalities was reduced.He did welcome plans to allow roadside breath test readings to be admissible as evidence in court, arguing that it would provide a more accurate picture of a motorist’s level of intoxication while actually behind the wheel.Currently, although police can breathalyse motorists immediately after pulling them over, that reading cannot be used as evidence.A second reading has to be taken once the suspect is taken to a police station, during which time the level of alcohol in their blood will drop.And Dr Froncioni also backed plans for speed cameras to be introduced, arguing that they did act as an effective deterrent against speeding.“Again, you have to let everyone know that these cameras are out there and will catch you if you are speeding,” he said.“They have shown to be a very effective way of getting motorists to reduce their speed, which, along with drink-driving are the two main causes of road fatalities.“The UK now has the lowest numbers of road fatalities in Europe and that’s because of speed cameras — they have been very effective in getting people to reduce their speed.”