Almost a quarter of motorists admit to driving the morning after a night out while still unsure if their blood alcohol level had returned to within the legal limit, research has found.
According to a recent AA Car Insurance survey of over 3,000 Irish motorists, 14% of respondents admitted that on one occasion in the past year they had driven the day after a night out while possibly still over the legal blood-alcohol limit.
Meanwhile, a further 9% admitted to taking this risk on up to five occasions, while 1.5% admitted to doing so on more than five occasions in 2018.
“Many of us associate drink-driving with the idea of someone stumbling out of the pub into their car, but there’s more to it than just that act. You have people who did the smart and responsible thing at 3.30 in the morning and got a taxi home, but then think they’re ok to drive at 7.30 the following morning to make their way into work which just doesn’t make sense,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs warned.
“If you’ve had a heavy night down the pub then three or four hours sleep and a coffee isn’t going to magically bring you back under the legal blood alcohol limit.
"As everyone’s body breaks alcohol down differently the amount of time it takes for you to return to within the legal limit will vary but as a general rule of thumb if you still feel hungover and the head is still pounding then you shouldn’t be getting behind the wheel.”
