10 million motorists could unknowingly drive under the influence of alcohol this Christmas

Vanarama presented 1,000 UK adults with five drink-driving scenarios, and revealed the following results:

28% of UK motorists are unaware that drinking a glass of champagne with their Christmas roast would put them over the alcohol limit in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Against the UK driving population (36 million), this means just over 10 million drivers could be risking it this year.

22% of UK adults – or 8 million drivers – are unaware that drinking two small glasses of wine will put you over the alcohol limit.
Six million drivers could be risking the morning after a Christmas night out. When asked if 12 hours was enough to stabilise your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) after eight cans of cider, 1 in 6 (17%) wrongly said it was safe to.

Simply sitting in the driving seat of a car whilst under the influence can land you £2,500 in fines and three months’ imprisonment

Drink-driving punishments are just as sobering as even sitting in your stand-still car while intoxicated can result in three months’ imprisonment, up to £2,500 in fines and a possible driving ban.

Actually driving or attempting to drive under the influence raises this to six months’ imprisonment, unlimited fines, and a driving ban of at least one year.

Causing death by careless driving while intoxicated could result in 14 years behind bars, unlimited fines, and a two-year minimum ban.

Tipple of choice: How long you should wait before driving the next morning

To help awareness of what the alcohol limit is, Vanarama has shared how long you should wait before driving after for drinking these common alcoholic choices:

Large glass of wine – 5 hours
Sex on the beach cocktail – 4 hours
Double vodka – 4 hours
Pint of cider – 4 hours
Long island iced tea – 3.5 hours
Pint of lager – 3.5 hours
Pina colada – 3 hours
Standard glass of champagne – 2.5 hours
Single gin – 2.5 hours

Top tips for staying safe on the roads after alcohol consumption this Christmas

Vanarama has also shared the following tips:

For the full avoidance of doubt, don’t drive after any amount of alcohol. If you feel like you are missing out, stick to alcohol-free alternatives, such as mocktails and Heineken 0.0.

Eating food before drinking can slow the absorption of alcohol and help manage your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) better. Even if you won’t be driving until the day after, this is recommended.

If you want to drink, stay within the drink driving limit and have a soft drink or glass of water every other drink or at regular intervals. Overall, you’ll still feel the merry effect of alcohol but won’t be consuming as much of it.

Give your body plenty of time to process the alcohol the following day before you drive. Especially after a heavy session, seven or eight hours of sleep likely won’t be enough to bring you below the drink-drive limit