One in 20 Scots think it’s okay to drink drive

The new research from the Scottish Government shows that some people would consider driving home over the limit this festive season.

One year on from the Scottish Government lowering the drink drive limit, from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood down to 50, a new campaign is reminding drivers “Don’t Risk It”.

3,682 people were reported as driving over the limit last year. And while this is a drop on the previous year, it shows a slow changing attitude, with only a 12.5 per cent decrease.

33 per cent of people would consider driving the morning after a night out, without knowing if they were still over the limit. But just 12 per cent of people think that it’s okay to drive home after drinking.

82% of people living in Scotland believe that drink driving is unacceptable.

Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Justice said: “Since the Scottish Government lowered the drink drive limit last December, all the statistics are going in the right direction - fewer people are being caught, but more importantly there’s a shift in attitudes to even having one drink and driving, and indeed driving the next day after drinking. But while these figures show that positive steps are being taken to change attitudes towards drink driving, it is concerning that there is still a minority who would risk the safety of other road users, and themselves, by getting behind the wheel after drinking. That is why I welcome the police action being taken to tackle reckless road users who continue to flout the law.

“Collectively, we are sending out a strong message when it comes to drink driving and our advice is simple – just don’t risk it.”

Superintendent Fraser Candlish from Police Scotland said: “Police stop around 20,000 drivers a month in Scotland; that’s one vehicle on average every two minutes. We will be increasing our enforcement throughout the festive period to discourage anyone thinking about drinking and driving, so the best advice is if you are planning to drink this Christmas, don’t drive.”

A conviction for driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal alcohol limit will result in:

Loss of licence – an automatic 12 month driving ban

A risk of being fined up to £5,000

A criminal record – for a minimum of 20 years

An offence which stays on your licence for 11 years

A risk of imprisonment

A risk of having your car sold or crushed