Don't drive the morning after

Christmas partygoers are risking their own lives and the lives of others by taking to the wheel the morning after a heavy night of drinking.

Four in 10 motorists quizzed in a survey by road safety charity Brake said they would drive the morning after a boozy Christmas party, even though they could easily be over the legal limit.

The proportion of drivers who say they would drive the morning after has also increased from 28% to 38% since the survey was last conducted seven years ago.

Brake is urging partygoers to plan their festive fun so that they either do not have to drive or can use another form of transport.

Brake campaigns director Julie Townsend said: 'A shocking proportion of drivers seem unaware of the dangers of driving the morning after a heavy night, or even small quantities of alcohol.'

The survey also found that nearly half of motorists thought they would have to drink two or more units of alcohol before their driving was impaired, when evidence shows it takes far less than this. A worrying 14% thought they could get away with drinking three to four units.

As well as calling on drivers to behave responsibly, Brake is pushing the Government to immediately cut the legal limit from 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood to 20mg. That would put the UK well below the 50mg limit used across most of Europe and only provide enough margin for motorists to drive after taking certain medicines.

The cross-party Transport Select Committee, however, has only recently recommended that the current legal maximum needs to be better enforced before the limit is cut.

Drink and drive with What Car? in a high-tech simulator
What Car? is looking for volunteers to put perceptions about alcohol intake and driving ability to the test.

We'll put four readers through tests in a driving simulator after various amounts of alcohol to see how their ability at the wheel is impaired. Find out how you can take part here.