Although it may be tempting to have 'just one more' there are severe consequences if you do. In 2010, 250 people lost their lives and 9,700 were injured as a result of drink driving.
The AA fears that this year the figure could be higher. The severe snow disruption of 2009/10 affected the level of drink-driving as Christmas parties were cancelled and people stayed indoors.
If you do take a risk and get behind the wheel after drinking, you could face a fine of up to £5,000, a driving ban or even prison. What's more the cost of car insurance will soar.
Research from MoneySupermarket found that drivers with conviction for drink driving face an 85% hike in their car insurance premiums on average, with some providers simply not prepared to offer cover at all.
All a very high price to pay for a couple of Christmas drinks. So, stay safe over the festive period and leave the car at home. Here are some tips:
- Take it in turns with your friends to have a designated driver each time you go out. The driver needn't feel too hard done by as they can be rewarded with a free soft drink courtesy of the THINK! Christmas drink-drive campaign. More than 8,000 pubs and student unions are involved and participating venues can be found using the Coca-Cola 'Pub Finder' tool either online or via a Smartphone.
- Don't offer an alcoholic drink to someone you know is going to be driving. An AA/Populas survey showed that 25% of people felt they could be pressurised by other people into drinking more with more than half citing work colleagues as the most likely to coerce them into 'just one more'.
- It can often seem like an easier and cheaper option to drive to the pub and collect your car in the morning. However, after a few drinks and armed with a heightened sense of confidence, you may well be tempted to drive home. Think ahead and take an alternative form of transport.
- The legal limit for driving after drinking alcohol is 80mg per 100ml of blood. However, there is no foolproof way to calculate how much you can safely drink as a number of factors affect each individual. Age, gender, stress levels, how much you have eaten, and what type of drink you have had all have an impact . Therefore, stick to soft drinks, non-alcoholic beers or 'mocktails'.
- 'It's only down the road' - many people use this excuse when they drive after drinking. However a large proportion of drink-drive crashes occur within three miles of the start of a journey, so even if it's freezing and the car seems an appealing option, find another way to get home.
- Be careful about driving the next morning if you have been drinking the previous night. It can take a number of hours for alcohol to leave the body so you could therefore still be over the limit. A healthy liver will take approximately one hour to process one unit of alcohol, so a large glass of wine (250 ml) for example, will take around three hours before it is processed.
- The AA found that 5% of people over the past three years had travelled in a car where they felt the driver was over the legal drink-drive limit. Don't accept a lift from someone you know is over the limit, no matter how tempting it may be.
So eat, drink and be merry over the Christmas period - but leave the car at home. It is far better than starting the new year with at best a large fine and at worst being involved in a fatal accident.
Please note: Any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.
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