- The legal alcohol limit for England and Wales is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
- In Scotland, the limit is 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
- Of 1,004 respondents to a recent survey conducted by IAM RoadSmart, 235 (23%) gave the correct answer for England and Wales, and 166 (17%) for Scotland.
- The rest of the respondents either answered incorrectly, or said they didn’t know the answer.
- In a recent Twitter poll, however, 94% of respondents said that they’d only consider themselves safe and legal to drive after a maximum of one drink.
- 73% of respondents to the same poll said that they’d only consider themselves safe and legal to drive if they’d had zero alcoholic drinks.
Recent research by IAM RoadSmart revealed that a surprisingly high number of UK Drivers don’t know the facts and figures for what the legal limit is for alcohol content when behind the wheel.
In a recent survey of just over 1,000 motorists, 77% said they didn’t know or answered incorrectly when asked what the legal alcohol limit is in England and Wales, and 83% said they didn’t know or answered incorrectly when given the same questions for Scotland.
While public knowledge of the specific limit of micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath was low, a Twitter poll recently published on the official IAM RoadSmart account was more encouraging.
In the poll, 73% respondents answered that they would consider themselves safe and legal to drive only if they’d consumed zero alcoholic drinks. A further 21% responded that they’d consider themselves safe to drive after one drink, for a total of 94% of respondents answering one of these two options.
Despite widespread knowledge of the danger, and the social stigma towards drink driving, shocking numbers of drunk drivers are still present on UK roads:
- An annual average of over 41,000 drink driving convictions between 2010-2020
- 140,000 drivers admitted to having driven while they believe they were over the legal limit in 2020
- Earlier this year, the Department for Transport released statistics which revealed that there has been no improvement in drink-drive related deaths on UK roads, following a decade of stagnation.
- In 2019, 7,800 people were injured or killed in an accident with a drunk driver.
What can employers do to ensure that the risk of their own drivers driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
An essential first step is having a company vehicle policy. While this is a legal requirement, and may seem obvious or simple, a third of UK fleets do not have a company vehicle policy.
Foster a safety culture that encourages open communication and prioritises driver wellbeing.
Download our free poster on alcohol and driving to give your team a quick, free knowledge boost.
