26 August 2014
5 Mins read

Motorists ‘ignoring risks’ of driving morning after boozy night

Research from Admiral has revealed that motorists are driving the morning after a heavy night of drinking without considering if they are under the legal alcohol limit.

Millions of UK motorists are putting themselves and other road users at risk by driving the morning after heavy drinking session, suggests new research from car insurance provider Admiral.

Out of 2,000 survey participants, over a third admitted to getting into the driver’s seat the morning after a booze-filled night, despite having a suspicion that they were still over the legal limit. The results differed when separated by gender, with 40 per cent of men and 25 per cent of women confessing to ignoring the risks.

Commenting on the results, Justin Beddows from Admiral, said many people will have spent the August bank holiday drinking socially and the research suggests many could have jumped in the car today (August 26th) while still being over the legal limit.

“It’s scary just how many people are willing to drive their car despite thinking they are probably still over the drink drive limit. Not only are they risking a hefty fine and driving ban, they are putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk,” she added.

The risks of getting into the car after indulging in a heavy drinking session the night before are significant. If caught, the driver faces hefty fines, points on their licence or loss of it completely and in some cases jail time. Furthermore, being behind the wheel while still over the limit could be harmful to the driver and any other road users they encounter.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of the survey participants did not monitor how much alcohol they were consuming despite knowing they’d have to drive the next day. Around 40 per cent of the respondents said they did not drive the morning after a boozy evening, but admitted to being a passenger in the car of someone who had indulged the night before.

Some common myths emerged from the results, with 35 per cent of participants believing they could lessen the effects by drinking plenty of water, 27 per cent thought sleeping for more than eight hours would counteract the results of alcohol and 14 per cent claimed consuming coffee could minimize the effects.

Roger Singer, managing director of Drink Driver Education, an independent training organisation which provides drink drive awareness courses, said if you drink six pints of beer, with the last one being consumed at midnight, you would need to wait until 14:00 BST the following day for the alcohol to have completely left your body. The more you drink, the longer you’d need to wait.

Posted by Emma George