Drink Drive Limits

A friendly word of advice from our partners at AlcoSense

As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, motorists are being warned they could still be over the drink drive limit the morning after commemorative celebrations.

To honour the end of World War II, the Prime Minister has announced that pubs across England and Wales will be permitted to stay open two hours later than usual – serving until 1am on the evening of Thursday 8 May.

But road safety experts are urging drivers to think twice before getting behind the wheel on Friday morning – whether for the commute or the school run.

“Alcohol takes much longer to clear your system than many people realise,” said Hunter Abbott, MD of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense. “If you are celebrating to toast the Heroes of VE Day, there’s a real risk you’ll still be impaired when you wake up – even if you feel fine.

“If you’re in any doubt, use a personal breathalyser the next morning to make sure you’re safe to drive.”

Alcohol sales are expected to surge during the VE celebrations. During the August bank holiday in 2024, more than 45 million pints were poured across UK pubs, and with the emotional weight of VE Day combined with extended licensing hours, industry observers anticipate a significant increase in alcohol consumption on 8 May.

Even a small amount of alcohol affects your reaction time, judgement, concentration and co-ordination – making collisions more likely. You are thirteen times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash at the legal limit in England and Wales, and 37% more likely even at one-eighth of that limit, according to research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Latest figures released by the Department for Transport show 300 people were killed in drink drive crashes in 2022 – up 15% on the year before and the highest number since 2009. Total casualties rose to 6,800, with a sharp increase in deaths over the past two years.

“Many people have been drinking more heavily since the pandemic,” Abbott added. “And these figures only reflect cases where a driver was actually over the limit. They don’t count the ‘lethal but legal’ – those under the limit but still impaired.”

Police data shows 40% of all breath tests are now conducted between 6am and 1pm, highlighting the scale of the morning-after problem.