744,000 drivers say they will be over the limit when they drive this Christmas; 31 percent of those planning to drink drive still believe ‘it won’t harm anyone. Of the 2,000 drivers questioned, 10percent said that they would be having at least one alcoholic drink per night out over the festive period with nearly a fifth (18percent) admitting to thinking that they would be over the legal drink drive limit when they take to the roads.
Despite years of widespread anti drink driving campaigning, the main reason these people are planning to do this is because they believe ‘that it won’t harm anyone’ (31percent). A fifth (20percent) admit to drink driving being something that they have done before. Nearly half (49percent) of drivers who are having at least one drink will be carrying passengers, and are most likely to have their partners and children in the car.
The top ten list of excuses from those planning to drink drive are as follows:
Drivers who plan to drink drive seem to be in denial about the consequences of their actions on the public and themselves if they are caught. According to the DVLA, those caught driving or attempting to drive whilst over the legal limit or unfit through drink can receive: 6 months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years if convicted twice in 10 years). Despite this, 80percent of those who believe they will be over the drink drive limit when they drive, rely on their car for work – either to get to/from or actually use for work purposes.
The findings have also revealed that driver’s attitudes about driving the day after a heavy night out isn’t much better. Nearly half (48percent) of drivers don’t believe that they would be under legal alcohol limits to drive after a festive night out. Shockingly, however, over a quarter (26percent) are driving around within a few hours of waking up after a night out. More Welsh drivers (27percent) expect to be over the limit behind the wheel this Christmas than in any other region. This is followed by drivers in London (24percent), the South East (23percent), the West Midlands (23percent) and the South West (17percent). 16percent of drivers also expect to take to the roads under the influence in Yorkshire and Scotland, 13percent in the North West and 8percent in the East Midlands.
The research has also revealed that residential streets will be mostly used (45percent) by drivers who plan to have at least one drink over the festive period to get home. On average, drivers will travel five miles to get home after a festive get-together. A third of drivers (33percent) try to lessen the effects of alcohol by reaching for food before they drive. However as the Drink Aware website states: “Even small amounts of alcohol can affect your ability to drive so the only safe advice is to avoid any alcohol if you are driving.” Rather than trying to lessen the effects of alcohol, The Co-op Insurance is urging people to designate a driver over the festive period to try to lessen the risks on the roads.
Nick Ansley, Head of Motor Insurance at The Co-op, said: “The fact that over 740,000 drivers believe that they are going to be over the limit when they drive this Christmas is not only shocking but inexcusable. “The effect of drink driving is far reaching and can have devastating consequences for the drivers themselves, their passengers, other road users and their communities. We are urging people to designate a driver this Christmas to ensure that everyone gets home safely.”
Over a tenth (11percent) of people argue about who will drive over the Christmas period with the job often falling to Mum (17percent) or Dad (19percent). Whilst many designated drivers (24percent) are indifferent to their alcohol fuelled passengers it does seem happiness could be contagious with 18percent of designated drivers feeling happy to be ferrying people home. That said, one in ten (11percent) designated drivers get annoyed at their passengers, whilst 9percent say they feel like they don’t want to drink again because of their merry passengers.
