One in five motorists has driven the morning after a night of drinking despite knowing they could be over the drink-drive limit, a new survey has suggested.
Commissioned by the AA, the poll of almost 20,000 motorists found 29% of those aged 25 to 34 years – and 20% of all respondents – admitted to drinking and driving the following morning.
In an interview with the BBC, Edmund King OBE, president of the AA, said 20% of those prosecuted for drink-driving are caught by police between 06:00 and 12:00.
Data published in December 2015 by the Government’s THINK! campaign revealed that in 2013 an estimated 740 reported drink drive collisions took place in the morning, and around 5,500 people fail breath tests between 6am and midday every year.
The THINK! research also found that 58% of the 800 drivers surveyed would have four or more drinks on a night out, and still sometimes take a risk by driving the following morning – with only a third (33%) aware they could still be over the limit.
Edmund King also told the BBC: "I think people have kind of got the message when they go out in the evening so they’ll book a taxi or they’ll have a designated driver and they’ll be responsible.
"But once they get home, they go to bed, they have some sleep, and then they kind of think well I’m OK, it’s the next day.
"So they’re not equating the next day with what they’ve actually drunk and the problem is if you really have had a lot to drink, your body can only really break down one unit of alcohol per hour… it is relatively easy to be over the limit the next day."
Want to know more about drink-driving and road safety?
Online library of research and reports etc – visit the Road Safety Knowledge Centre
Key facts and summaries of research reports – visit the Road Safety Observatory
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