Road accidents seem to be rising on the UK roads. According to reports, a fair share of road crashes are the inevitable result of drink driving. If you follow the market studies, there has been an alarming rise of around 17% in drunk-driving crashes over the past 10 years in the UK. In simple words, 1 in 6 road deaths a year are due to the result of driving under influence of alcohol. Needless to mention, the situation becomes even worse during festive times such as Christmas or New Year.
BAC limit in UK while driving
The drink driving BAC limit in the UK is 80 mg per 100 ml of blood. The striking part is that all other European nations have opted for a much lower limit while England & Wales are sticking to their higher limit.
Why driving while being drunk is unsafe?
It’s always unsafe to drive while under the influence. Alcohol influences reaction times, vision & coordination which in turn makes drink driving truly risky. When you are in your high spirits, it would take you longer to react to hazards and avoid road accidents that could have been avoided otherwise. This way drink driving lowers your chances of hitting the brakes bang on time when say, a cat or passerby steps in front of you. The time taken between assuming a possible collision and finally hitting the brake is called the “thinking time”- even if it differs by just a few seconds while you are under influence compared to when you are sober. could mean the difference of life and death for somebody else.
Drink driving makes you underestimate the speed & distance of vehicles on the road. Your vision would be affected which will further slower down the reaction time. Moreover, drivers under the influence are also prone to a more reckless driving which in turn heightens the chances of accidents on road. What many don’t understand is that drink driving would even put the driver’s life in jeopardy.
According to government surveys, more than 5,000 drivers fail in breath tests in between 6 in the morning & midday. It will take your body at least 1 hour to break down 1 unit of alcohol, which implies if you have gulped down 4 pints of beer or 4 big wine glasses, the body would take a further 12 hours to clear from your body.
Would lower limits help?
The allowed BAC limit for drivers have a crucial role to play regarding the resulting road accidents and casualties from drink driving. Risks of road accidents increase by –
- 2x for drivers under .05 BAC
- 4X for drivers under .08 BAC
- 20X for drivers under .15 BAC.
Thus, you see there is a strong relation between the allowed BAC limit for drivers and the threats of road accident, with the UK’s drink driving laws permitting a higher limit, collision, injury & casualty risks are even bigger compared to other European countries. Debates have been raised on whether the UK should consider a lower BAC limit following the lead of Scotland which has shown positive results in drink driving related accidents after a lower limit has been introduced.
The Scot government has already reduced the BAC limit from 80 to 50 mg which led to a good 12.5 percent decrease in drink-driving offenses post 2014 December compared to years with higher limit.
More police checkposts
Studies have shown that drivers would be less prone to drink driving risks if there are chances of being stopped by the police. People who choose to violate the drunken driving laws are governed by this perception that there would be fewer police & fewer checks on the road. Thus, the experts are suggesting setting up more checkposts and more alert police officers so that drink drivers are compelled to think twice while driving under influence.
Random checks
Random BAC checks by the police might also help to curb down the drink driving habits and consequent collisions on road. If police are given powers to halt the drivers randomly for surprise checks, and not just when it’s a faulty car or erratic driving, drivers would stay more alert and think twice before driving under the influence of alcohol.
While this blog aims to discuss whether drink driving has increased, we are fully aware that many people make mistakes and ordinary people can be caught drink driving and learn from these mistakes. Sometimes, its a genuine error such as getting in your car the morning after a night of drinking, thinking that you are now safe to drive. We know after a drink driving conviction it can be very difficult to find car insurance again as many insurers will not cover you, this is where we are different. We are specialists in the drink driver insurance market. If are are looking for a drink driver insurance quote then check out then look no further.
