29% 'would risk drink driving'

16/12/11

By Verena Vogt

A new survey has shown that nearly three in ten of 17 to 24-year-old motorists are prepared to get behind the wheel after they have been drinking.

The poll by road safety charity Brake revealed that the figure is down from close to one in two drivers four years ago.

But the number of young motorists who would risk driving the morning after a night of heavy drinking has increased from 45 per cent in 2007 to more than one in two.

Around one in eight of young drivers believed they could drive safely even after drinking three or more units of alcohol, although more than six in ten said they knew their driving could be affected by only one unit. 

Brake campaigns director Julie Townsend said: "Christmas is a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate.

"But for some of the families Brake supports, it's a sad time when they remember loved ones who have been killed in crashes caused by drink-drivers - in many cases young, inexperienced drivers who didn't think through the consequences."