A Portland man who suffered more than a year of pain after a drink driver collided with his motorbike is calling for a ‘zero alcohol limit’.

Pete Bower, who survived the major crash on Portland Beach Road in August, 2009 is renewing his call for changes to be made to drink-drive laws after reading about the plight of the Bartlett family in Weymouth.

He said hearing of how Ray Bartlett was killed after drink driver Steven Cleal had two pints of cider and then drove his van along the B3157 coastroad made him realise how lucky he had been to survive.

Cleal was recently sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Mr Bartlett’s widow Trudy told the Echo how she was facing a ‘life sentence’ and said: “No-one should drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel, it’s just ridiculous. It just takes that once and it devastates both families.

“Nothing will ever be the same again.”

Mr Bower said he wished to pass on his condolences to the family and to back their call for a blanket ban on drink driving.

Under the current law, the legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

He said: I really feel for the family concerned.

“It really hit me as I felt that I was nearly the same in August, 2009 when a drunk driver crashed in to me on my side of the road while messing with his radio instead of watching the road.

“Luckily I survived as I managed to move over a bit to avoid a head-on crash but it was touch and go with a long time in hospital and I have the hardware to always remind me of it.”

He added: “I still cannot believe that drink driving is still allowed.

“If there was no drink-drive rule limit surely people would not take the risk as everybody has a different tolerance for drink.

“This two-pint drink-drive approach would then be zero so only the fools would drive. If they do give them a five-year ban and a high fine.”

Mr Bower has also thrown his support behind a campaign to encourage greater motorcycle awareness on Dorset’s roads.

He added: “I agree that motorcycle awareness should be in the driving test and drivers need to look out for motorcycles as they are more vulnerable, the legal speed can be misjudged by motorists when approaching oncoming traffic and junctions.

“If a car driver rode a motorcycle for a while they would be better drivers.”