Up to 1.2 million motorists unaware they’re over the drink-drive limit

Research from LV= car insurance has revealed research that suggests in the past two years, a staggering 1.2 million motorists have driven ‘the morning after’ whilst still over the drink-drive limit.

The news comes as police forces and anti-drink-drink campaigners prepare for their busiest time of the year, with Christmas historically leading to a peak in drink-driving arrests.

On Bing: see pictures of drink-driving

Drink driving deaths UP by 25%

Many drivers blatantly choose to ignore the drink-drive limit, whilst others are seemingly unaware of how long it takes for alcohol to leave the body.

On average, morning after drivers consume 19 units of alcohol (seven pints of strong lager or six 250ml glasses of wine) and then drive their car just ten hours after having their first drink.

This means they are still as much as five hours away from being sober enough to drive legally.

As many as 46% of drivers were unaware that – on average – it takes the body an hour to break down one unit of alcohol, although this could change depending on a person’s age, weight, gender or metabolism.

The law states that a driver can have a maximum of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, 35mpg per 100ml of breath, or 107mpg per 100ml of urine. This equates to four units for a man and three units for a woman.

With as many as 10% of drink-drive incidents occurring in December alone, the message remains clear. If you’re going to drive, don’t drink. And if you’re going to drink, don’t drive.

Simple.

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On Bing: see pictures of drink-driving

Drink driving deaths UP by 25%

By motoringresearch.com