One in eight Irish motorists admit to driving the morning after a night involving a few drinks while still uncertain whether their blood alcohol level had returned to within the legal limit.
The AA Ireland survey involved over 5,000 Irish motorists as the car insurance company urged people to exercise common sense while enjoying their holiday celebrations.
When asked if they had ever risked driving the morning after a night out or in within the past two years while questioning if they were under the limit, 7.79 per cent admitted to having done so on at least one occasion.
Meanwhile, 4.07 per cent admitted to doing so on up to five occasions, with 0.5 per cent taking such a risk on five or more occasions.
Risk
“Many of us will be spending time between Christmas and New Years with family that we may not have seen much over the past year so understandably, even if a traditional night out isn’t an option this Christmas, people will want to celebrate with their loved ones in some manner. However, if you know that you must travel the following day, it is important that you act appropriately,” Conor Faughnan, AA director of consumer affairs stated.
“Some people will think that a few hours sleep and a strong coffee will have them in a position to drive safely the morning after but you could easily still be above the limit and represent a danger to yourself and other road users.”
The survey also found that over four per cent of respondents had been the passenger in a car where they knew or suspected the driver to be over the legal blood alcohol limit.
Meanwhile, 2.59 per cent of those surveyed said they had found themselves in a car being driven by someone likely or potentially over the limit on one occasion in the past two years, with 2.05 per cent stating this had happened to them on more than one occasion.
