Motorists admit to driving after Xmas drinks

The findings of a new survey suggest two million motorists could drive home after a Christmas party despite thinking they were at the drink drive limit or just over.

The survey of 2,000 drivers, carried out by AlcoSense, found that 5% would get behind the wheel after a few drinks, even though they knew they would have reached the limit or exceeded it.

With 41.2 million licensed vehicles on the roads, that’s a potential two million drivers, AlcoSense says.

More than one in ten (11%) respondents said they would drive if they thought they were close to the legal limit but ‘just about OK’.

And nearly one in five (18%) reckoned they would drive after drinks with friends or family to celebrate Christmas, knowing they had alcohol in their system but feeling ‘sure’ they were under the limit.

Hunter Abbott, MD of breathalyser firm AlcoSense Laboratories, said: “Even small amounts of alcohol slow your reaction time, inhibit judgement, reduce concentration and affect eye, foot and hand co-ordination. 

“This increases the likelihood of a crash. At just one-eighth of the current limit for England and Wales you are still 37% more likely to be involved in a fatal road accident than when sober.”

Of those who said they would drive despite being close to or over the limit, the most popular excuse was ‘I feel sober enough’ – cited by 56% of respondents – while 43% justified it by saying they ‘only have a short distance to drive’.

 One in four (26%) claimed ‘the roads will be quiet’ and 22% thought they’d ‘probably get away with it’.

The latest figures from the DfT show there were 260 deaths on Britain’s roads in 2021 where a motorist was over the drink drive limit – the highest since 2009.