In 2012, 1,200 people were seriously injured when a driver was over the legal alcohol limit. As a result, 280 people were killed in drink driving accidents.
These figures are too high but accidents involving drink driving have decreased hugely over the last 35 years. Deaths and serious injuries related to drink driving have fallen by more than three-quarters since 1979.
Get all the essential facts on drink driving.
The law on drink driving
Staying under the limit
How alcohol affects driving
How would I be tested for drink driving?
What happens if I'm caught drink driving
How to ensure you don't drink and drive
What's the law on drink driving?
In the UK, the alcohol limit for drivers is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100millilitres of blood, 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or 107milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine. In most other European countries, the limit is less, usually 50 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood.
There is no fool-proof way of drinking and staying under the limit. The amount of alcohol you would need to drink to be considered over the driving limit varies from person to person. It depends on:
How much can I drink and stay under the limit?
your weight
your gender (men tend to process alcohol faster than women)
your metabolism
the type and amount you're drinking
your current stress levels
whether you've eaten recently
age (younger people tend to process alcohol more slowly
Even small amounts of alcohol can affect your ability to drive so the only safe advice is to avoid any alcohol if you are driving.
How alcohol affects driving
Many of the functions that we depend on to drive safely are affected when we drink alcohol:
the brain takes longer to receive messages from the eye
processing information becomes more difficult
instructions to the body's muscles are delayed resulting in slower reaction times.
You can also experience blurred and double vision, which affects your ability to see things clearly while you are driving. And you’re more likely to take potentially dangerous risks because you can act on urges you normally repress.
Even small amounts of alcohol affect your ability to drive and the only safe advice is to avoid any alcohol if you are driving.
How would I be tested for drink driving?
If the police want to investigate whether you are over the drink-driving limit, they will carry out a screening breath test at the roadside. To do this, they will use a breathalyser.
If you fail this test, or if they have other grounds to believe that your driving was impaired through drink, you will be arrested and taken to a police station.
At the station you will need to provide two more breath specimens into a complex breathalyser, called an evidential breath testing instrument. The lower of the two readings is used to decide whether you are above the drink driving limit.
If the evidential breath sample is up to 40% over the limit you have the right to replace your evidential breath specimen with blood or urine - the police officer will decide which test you will have. If your evidential samples show that you are over the limit, you will be charged.
The police can carry out a breathalyser test if you have committed a moving traffic offence (such as banned turns) been involved in an accident, or have given the police grounds to believe you are over the limit.
The police are allowed to stop any vehicle at their discretion, and will often set up drink driving check points over periods such as Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Anyone caught over the legal alcohol limit when driving will be banned from driving for at least 12 months, and fined up to £5,000. You can also be given between three to 11 penalty driving points. And you could be sent to prison for up to six months. Imprisonment, the period of disqualification, size of fine and penalty points depend on the seriousness of the offence.
What’s the punishment if I get caught drink driving?
If you’re caught drink driving more than once in a 10 year period, you’ll be banned for at least three years.
How to ensure you don't drink and drive
Arrange within your group of friends who's going to be the designated driver. A designated driver is the person who abstains from alcohol on a night out so they can drive the rest of their group of friends home safely.
If you live somewhere with good public transport links – take advantage of them. If you’re planning on staying out beyond the last train, tube or bus, make sure you’ve got a couple of taxi numbers.
If you have no option but to drive, stick to zero alcohol beers, mocktails or standard soft drinks.
Not every night out has to involve a bar or pub - book a table at a restaurant or try one of our alcohol-free nights on the town ideas.