The PSOE tries again to lower the permitted alcohol limit for driving in Spain. The Plenary of Congress will debate next Tuesday the consideration of a bill registered by the Socialist Group that aims to establish a single maximum rate of 0.2 grams of alcohol per liter of blood or 0.1 milligrams per liter of exhaled air, compared to the 0.5 grams and 0.25 milligrams currently applied to most drivers. The initiative was registered on September 11, admitted for processing four days later, and published in the Official Bulletin of the General Courts on September 18.
This is not yet a new rate in force. Congress must first decide whether to accept the start of parliamentary processing and, if it passes that vote, the text may go through amendments and undergo modifications before its final approval. The PSOE thus revives a reform that it already tried to push forward during this legislature and which ended up falling in the Interior Commission in March 2026 by 18 votes in favor and 19 against.
From 0.5 to 0.2 grams for most drivers
The current legislation allows an ordinary driver to circulate with a rate of up to 0.5 grams per liter of blood or 0.25 milligrams per liter of exhaled air. For professionals and novice drivers, the maximum is lower, at 0.3 grams in blood or 0.15 milligrams in air, while minors driving any vehicle have a set rate of 0.0.
The socialist approach seeks to reduce the threshold to 0.2 grams in blood and 0.1 milligrams in exhaled air, eliminating much of the current differences between adult drivers depending on the type of vehicle or the age of the license. In the statement of reasons, the PSOE argues that the current limits are around 25 years old and cites Sweden and Norway as references, where similar levels are applied. The Socialist Group defends the measure under the message "Only 0 is 0" and maintains that it aims to move towards a policy of practically zero tolerance with alcohol at the wheel.
The reform, however, does not literally establish a rate of 0.0 for all drivers. There would still be a small margin up to 0.1 milligrams per liter of exhaled air or 0.2 grams per liter of blood. The argument of the promoters is that a technical limit higher than zero avoids problems arising from measurements and certain physiological circumstances, but at the same time conveys a much more restrictive message than the current one.
Fines from 200 euros and loss of two points
One of the main changes is what would happen to a driver who could currently drive within the law. The text proposes to consider a serious offense to drive with more than 0.1 and up to 0.25 milligrams per liter of exhaled air, equivalent to more than 0.2 and up to 0.5 grams per liter of blood. As it is a serious offense, the Traffic Law generally establishes a fine of 200 euros, and the proposal adds the withdrawal of two points from the license.
From there, the penalties would increase. Exceeding 0.25 milligrams in air or 0.5 grams in blood would be considered a very serious offense and would entail, according to the general regime, 500 euros in fines and four points when the rate remains up to 0.50 milligrams in air or 1 gram in blood. For levels above 0.50 milligrams per liter of exhaled air or 1 gram per liter of blood, the proposal maintains a penalty of 1,000 euros and the withdrawal of six points.
This introduces an important difference regarding the headline of "fines of up to 1,000 euros": the 1,000 euros would not be a new penalty for any driver who exceeds 0.2 grams, but the step reserved for the highest administrative rates. The main novelty for most motorists would be that the interval between 0.1 and 0.25 milligrams per liter of air, which can currently be legal for a general driver, would begin to be penalized.
What would change regarding current fines
Today, the DGT establishes for a general driver a penalty of 500 euros and four points when exceeding 0.25 milligrams per liter of exhaled air and not exceeding 0.50. Above 0.50, the administrative penalty rises to 1,000 euros and six points; repeat offenders can also receive a fine of 1,000 euros.
The socialist reform would largely maintain those two levels, but would add one new below: more than 0.10 and up to 0.25 milligrams would mean 200 euros and two points. In this way, the most relevant change would not be so much in increasing the maximum fine as in significantly lowering the level from which sanctions begin.
The proposal also establishes that, if it ends up being approved, the reform would come into force two months after its publication in the BOE, giving a period of adaptation before starting to apply the new limits.
The criminal limit does not change: more than 0.60 remains a crime
The initiative affects the administrative regime of the Traffic Law, but does not modify the criminal threshold. The Penal Code establishes that driving with a rate higher than 0.60 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air or 1.2 grams per liter of blood constitutes in any case a crime against road safety.
The penalty may consist of imprisonment of three to six months, a fine of six to twelve months, or community service of 31 to 90 days, accompanied in any case by the withdrawal of the right to drive for a period exceeding one year and up to four years. There may also be a crime with lower rates if it is proven that the person was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Therefore, if the proposal succeeds, there would be several clearly differentiated levels: a new administrative limit much lower starting from 0.1 milligrams in air, progressive sanctions according to the amount detected, and, from the thresholds set by the Penal Code, criminal consequences.
The second attempt after the rejection in March
The PSOE already presented a very similar initiative in October 2024. The Plenary accepted to begin its processing on March 18, 2025, with 177 votes in favor, 32 against, and 135 abstentions, and the text subsequently passed to the Interior Commission. However, after more than a year of parliamentary progress, the Commission rejected the report of the working group on March 18, 2026, which ended that proposal.
The voting ended with 18 votes in favor and 19 against. PP, Vox, and ERC opposed the text, while different associations of traffic victims later criticized the failure of the reform. ERC then defended that it preferred a rate of 0.0 and questioned the formula used, while representatives of the PP pointed out that a modification of this importance should come accompanied by greater reports and guarantees.
After that rejection, the socialist spokesperson for Road Safety, Manuel Arribas, announced that his group would present the proposal again. Six months later, the PSOE has fulfilled that commitment with a new text specifically focused on reducing the maximum blood alcohol level.
Why the PSOE insists on 0.2
The statement of reasons uses accident rates as the main argument. The text states that 33% of the analyzed deceased drivers by the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences had positive blood alcohol results and recalls that even relatively small amounts affect reaction time and risk perception. It also notes that in 2025 there were 31,159 criminal convictions related to driving with high blood alcohol levels, according to the data cited by the proposal itself.
The PSOE adds that Spain maintains limits established about a quarter of a century ago and uses countries like Sweden and Norway as a reference, which apply 0.2 grams per liter of blood. "Reducing the maximum blood alcohol level while driving is not a whim or a symbolic measure. It is a road safety decision aimed at preventing accidents, injuries, and deaths," defended Arribas.
The DGT has maintained for years that the only completely safe rate is 0.0, although the current legal limit for most drivers remains 0.5 grams in blood. In its intensive control campaign last July, Traffic reminded that one in three deceased drivers had consumed alcohol and/or drugs.
On Tuesday, the parliamentary journey starts again
The vote next Tuesday will not definitively approve the new rate. What the Plenary will decide is whether to take the proposal into consideration and allow it to formally begin its journey through Congress. If it receives enough support, the amendment and negotiation phase will open among the groups, so both the limits and the sanction regime could undergo changes before reaching a definitive vote. Congress confirms that the consideration is among the issues scheduled for the Plenary that begins on Tuesday.
The result cannot be taken for granted either after what happened in March. The previous initiative initially managed to pass the Plenary, but ended up falling a year later in Committee by a single vote. The PSOE is now putting the reform back on the table with a proposal more focused on blood alcohol content and with the aim of establishing 0.2 grams per liter of blood as the new general reference.
If it ultimately completes all parliamentary processing, the change will be relevant for millions of drivers: a rate that today may be within the legal limit for an ordinary driver would imply a fine of 200 euros and the loss of two points, while higher excesses would continue to increase up to 1,000 euros and six points. Until then, the current rates remain fully in force.