82% of UK drivers want tougher measures for drink-driving
82% of UK motorists think tougher measures are needed to tackle drink-driving, according to new research from the RAC.
The large majority calling for action follows the latest Government statistics showing the number of drink-driving fatalities has risen to its highest level since 2009, accounting for a fifth (18%) of all road-related deaths. Government figures also show drink-drive deaths are up 7% in a decade, with an estimated 260 to 300 people losing their lives every year as a result of drink-driving.
Of the four-in-five (82%) that stated more needs to be done, more than two-thirds (68%) said so without being made aware of the number of road casualties involving illegal alcohol levels. When shown the statistics, a further 14% expressed support for extra penalties and/or stricter legislation.
Interestingly, overall support for more being done to tackle drink-driving rose to 88% among the under-25s and 85% among those aged 25 to 44 – the age groups which the RAC’s research shows have the greatest propensity to break drink-driving laws. The consensus was only slightly smaller for those aged 45 to 64 (82%) and dropped to three-quarters (77%) for drivers older than 65.
The proportion of drivers who admit to having been in control of a vehicle while under the influence also appears to be nearing pre-pandemic levels. The figures show 7% of drivers think they have driven while over the limit on the night they consumed alcohol, while a further 5% said they’d done so the morning after.
Both figures are the highest they’ve been since 2019, when 12% admitted to driving on the night they’d drank and 10% believed they had the morning after – and both up from the 10% that said they’d driven over the limit in 2024.
The trend seems to be most common among younger drivers, with a rising proportion of those under 45 admitting to getting behind the wheel shortly after drinking. Almost a fifth of under-25s (18%) say they have driven when over the limit on the same night they consumed alcohol – up from 15% in 2024 – while the rate in those aged 25 to 44 has increased from 8% to 14% this year.
The number of respondents who know or suspect they have been in a car with a drunk driver has also doubled in the space of 12 months, from 8% in 2024 to 16% this year. Four-in-10 (40%) respondents under the age of 25 said the same, up sharply from 28% last year. In the 25-to-44 age group the percentage is 31% compared to just 14% in 2024.
“The fact a huge majority of drivers support more being done to tackle the scourge of drink-driving, coupled with the long-term trend of more lives being lost to this entirely preventable crime, sends a clear message to the Government ahead of the publication of the first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade,” said RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis.
“Our figures show more people are prepared to get behind the wheel after having one too many drinks, with the number admitting to doing so at its highest since 2019. What’s more, there’s also been a rise in those who think they’ve been a passenger in a vehicle being driven by someone they suspect was over the limit. With our numbers only being a representative sample, this could well be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the number of drunk drivers on the roads.”
