One in four would drive after drinking alcohol

One in four people in Northern Ireland would drive after drinking alcohol, a new report has revealed.

The Northern Ireland Road Safety Monitor, 2014 was published, highlighting the public's opinions on motorists' driving habits.

The report showed that a large majority (83%) of respondents surveyed agreed that the police should be able to stop people at random and breathalyse them for driving under the influence of alcohol.

It also reports that almost nine out of ten (86%) respondents thought drink driving was a situation when police should have the power to seize a vehicle. Although the report shows that the majority of people (61%) oppose drivers taking one drink and driving, nearly half (49%) would still get in a car with a driver who themselves had taken one drink.

It remains that one in four drivers (24%) who drink alcohol would still get behind the wheel after one drink which is similar to levels reported in previous surveys. Speeding, carelessness on the roads, and drinking and driving are still considered the three main factors in causing injuries or deaths on Northern Ireland’s roads cited by 78%, 59% and 53% of respondents respectively.

Speeding continues to be perceived as the main cause of road deaths and injuries year on year even though the latest PSNI road casualty statistics show that 'inattention or attention diverted' to be the principal causation factor.

Compared to the figure for 2011 (61 %), a decreasing proportion of drivers (53 %) believed it would be 'likely' or 'very likely' that they would be caught by the police if they exceeded the speed limit. The survey also gathered information on the level of awareness and effectiveness of DOE road safety advertising campaigns.

Individuals views were sought on a number of road safety topics which included speeding, drink driving, penalty points, seatbelts and pedestrians.

When respondents were asked to list the three most important influences in creating an awareness of road safety, just over seven in ten (72 %) stated that TV advertising was one of the most important factors, a reduction of ten percentage points from the previous year.

Other main influences were 'penalties for breaking the law' (30 %), followed by 'news and documentaries on TV and radio', and 'a friend of relative involved in a collision or near miss' both equally rated by just over a quarter of respondents (26 %). The majority of respondents were aware of the DOE Road safety TV campaigns. Eighty-one percent were aware of 'Road to Zero', 77% of Don’t Forget and 70% were aware of 'ONCE'.

Across all campaigns the vast majority (over 9 in 10) reported being influenced. Almost nine in every ten respondents (88 %) stated that they were aware of at least one radio campaign.

In 2013, the awareness levels of the radio road safety campaigns was 77 %, which represents an increase of eleven percentage points over the year and is similar to the level recorded in 2011 (87%).