Drink and drug driving

Drinking and driving don’t mix

3,000 people are killed or seriously injured on our roads each year in drink related crashes and nearly one in six of all deaths on the road involve drivers over the legal limit. If you plan to drink, don’t risk driving - book a taxi, use public transport, stay overnight, arrange for someone who is not drinking to drive.

Consequences of drink driving

On average 100,000 drivers are convicted every year for drink driving. The police can ask you to take a breath test if they suspect you have been drinking or if you commit a traffic offence.

If you are convicted of drink driving:

You’ll have a criminal record
You could go to prison for up to 10 years
You could be banned from driving
You could be fined heavily
You could lose your job
Your insurance costs will increase dramatically.

Safe levels of alcohol

Any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive safely impairing your reaction times and your ability to judge speed and distances. The only guaranteed safe level is no alcohol.

Factors which affect your ability to absorb alcohol:

Your weight
Your sex
Your age
Your metabolism
Stress levels
What you've eaten
The amount and type of alcohol.

The legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is - 80 Mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.

The only safe option is not to drink if you plan to drive and not offer drinks to others who are driving.

The morning after

Nearly one in five people who are convicted of drink driving are caught the morning after and do not realise that they can still lose their licence if they are over the legal alcohol level.

Even small amounts of alcohol affect your ability to drive safely.

If you have been out drinking you may still be affected by alcohol the next day. You may feel OK when you get up but you may still be unfit to drive or over the legal alcohol limit. A shower, cup of coffee, or other ways of `sobering up` will not help, it just takes time.

Alcohol also tends to make you feel over confident and more likely to take risks when driving. The implications of a drink drive conviction can be far reaching.

Driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink carries a maximum penalty of 6 months' imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a minimum 12 months driving ban.
An endorsement for a drink-driving offence remains on a driving licence for 11 years, so it is 11 years before a convicted driver will have a "clean" licence again.
Being in charge of a vehicle whilst over the legal limit or unfit through drink could result in 3 months' imprisonment plus a fine of up to £2,500 and a driving ban.
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, a minimum 2-year driving ban and a requirement to pass an extended driving test before the offender is able to drive legally again.

Meet DES

To help with the problem of drink-driving there is the DESignated driver initiative:

DES can be a male or female, friend, workmate, relative or you
Anyone who has chosen to be the non-drinking member of your group can be the DESignated driver.
DES aims to reduce the problems caused by drinking and driving.
DES promotes the anti drink drive message and encourages drivers to designate a non-drinking driver when using the car to go out

Drug Driving

Driving under the influence of drugs - whether prescribed medication or illegal substances - is just as dangerous as driving when drunk. It's also against the law.

Drugs can affect your mind and body in a variety of ways that mean you aren't able to drive safely. Not only that, the effects can last for hours or even days.