Articles relating to Motoring

Drink Driving

Using a mobile phone while driving

Driving when you are over the legal alcohol limit is a serious criminal offence.

The current legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.

This might not mean much to you when it's shown like that just as talking about alcohol in 'units' can also be a bit confusing, particularly as different drinks have different alcoholic strengths.

Our advice is simple - don't drink any alcohol at all if you are planning on driving anywhere afterwards.

The consequences of drinking and driving are high. At twice the current legal limit you are at least 50 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. If convicted of a drink driving offence you will have a criminal record, you will not be allowed to drive for at least a year, you could lose your job and you could dramatically increase your insurance costs.

Remember after only one drink you may not be able to judge speed and distance accurately, your ability to react may be affected especially judging stopping distances and your judgment of risk may be affected making you more willing to take risks putting yourself and others in danger.

The facts

If you drive at twice the legal alcohol limit you are at least 30 times more likely to cause a road crash, than a driver who hasn't been drinking.

Any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive. There is no foolproof way of drinking and staying under the limit or of knowing how much an individual person can drink and still drive safely.

Each person's tolerance to alcohol depends on a range of factors:

• weight
• gender
• age
• metabolism
• current stress levels
• whether they have eaten recently
• amount of alcohol

So the only safe option is not to drink alcohol if you plan to drive, and never offer an alcoholic drink to someone else who is intending to drive.

THINK! Strategy for drink driving
The THINK! Strategy for drink driving is to remind all drivers of the personal consequences of drunk driving, and that a drink driving conviction can ruin your life.

Our campaigns focus on the 'moment of doubt' around the second pint, when drivers are considering whether or not to have another drink

  Using a mobile phone while driving

Using a mobile phone while driving – All phone calls distract from driving:

Research shows that reaction times for drivers using a handheld phone are 30% worse than for driving under the influence of alcohol at the legal limit.

Using a Mobil phone while driving means you are four times more likely to crash.

Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free:-

•  Are much less aware of what's happening on the road around them

•  Fail to see road signs

•  Fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed

•  Are more likely to ‘tailgate' the vehicle in front

•  React more slowly and take longer to brake

•  Are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic

•  Feel more stress and frustrated

For safety's sake wait to make that call