Police remind drivers to be careful on the morning after the Christmas party

Gone are the days when nobody would bat an eyelid if you drove home from the pub after an evening of beer, wine and other festive merriment. However, it would seem that a large number of UK motorists seem to have forgotten something. You can still be somewhat worse for wear the morning after the night before.  In other words, it might not be the best time to get in your car and drive!

Last Christmas, more drivers failed breathalyser tests between the hours of 6:00am and 11:00am, than during any other time of the day.  The hours of 11:00pm to 1:00am are the period of time most people usually associate with drink driving. Police have chalked this down to the fact that a significant number of motorists are still unaware that they are unlikely to be fit to drive the morning after their festive celebrations.

Police remind drivers to be careful on the morning after the Christmas party

The country’s most senior traffic police officer, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, had a warning for motorists. She said that drivers should be aware of the fact that they could still be over the legal drink drive limit on the morning after a few Christmas drinks. It doesn’t matter what time of day you’re caught. You could be commuting to work, popping down to the shops or even dropping the children off at school. You’ll still face the same penalties as someone who had got in their car and driven back home after an evening of heavy drinking down the pub. Drivers don’t just get breathalysed at night.

This year, British Police will be ready to carry out breath tests on drivers at all hours of the day. Pubs and other similar locations will naturally be targeted, but officers will also be stopping people in the morning. They’ll be looking for those who are still over the limit.

Drink driving costs lives, and last year, 280 fatalities were recorded in which the driver had been over the legal drink drive limit. The current legal limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, but the law is clamping down harder on drink drivers year by year. The Government outlined plans to tighten drink driving laws in the early part of November. Drivers who fail roadside testing currently have the right to demand a blood or urine test. However, the Government plans to abolish this. Drivers who are only slightly over the limit sometimes demand a blood or urine test – because they know it will give them enough time to sober up!

This year, a budget of over £780,000 has been allocated for the ‘Think’ campaign, and this is to be aimed at motorists aged between 20 and 24. This age group is most likely to drink drive, and failed the largest number of breath tests out of all other age groups in 2011.