Over 4,000 caught drink driving last year in the East Midlands
THERE were 4,042 motorists in the East Midlands caught drink driving last year according to car insurance comparison site confused. com with some stopped in the morning after an evening of heavy drinking.
Staff from the site obtained the information through Freedom of Information Act requests to police to highlight the problem. They’re particularly concerned about people who get a lift home from a party but drive the next morning without realising they’re still over the limit.
After getting the statistics from the police they did some more research to find that 15 per cent of convicted drunk drivers say they were caught between 5am and 11am.
To tackle the problem confused.com has created an online tool to help people estimate how long alcohol stays in their system once the drinking session is finished. But it comes with a warning that it is only a guide and doesn’t always deliver accurate results.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, says: “There are a worrying num- ber of people confused about how long they should wait between drinking alcohol and driving, and this has led to hundreds of motorists in the East Midlands being caught drunk behind the wheel each month.
“With December and Christmas party season just around the corner, we’ve created a morning after calculator that gives an idea as to how much alcohol is still in your system, and how long it typically takes to leave your body to give a quick indication of when you might be safe to drive.
“Drink driving can seriously impact the safety of our roads and put other road users at risk. Not only this, but it can land drivers with a fine or driving ban, which can have a negative impact on their car insurance premiums. To avoid getting caught out, we suggest drivers stop drinking early if they know they have to get behind the wheel in the morning, but the best advice would be to avoid drinking alcohol at all.
The link is available at www.confused.com/ car-insurance/morning-after-calculator.