North Yorkshire Police say don't drink at all if you plan on driving
It's as a survey finds "I only had one" is the most common excuse for drink driving
Last updated 15th Dec 2023
Ahead of another busy weekend of Christmas parties - North Yorkshire police are warning people not to drink any alcohol at all - if they're going to drive home.
Assistant Chief Constable Elliot Foskett from North Yorkshire police says it's never worth the risk: "We don't want to see people not getting home, we don't want to see empty chairs at Christmas, and that means either people being locked up by us, that's one way of doing it, but the worse bit is that we don't want people seriously injured in hospital or ending up dead on our roads because of people getting behind the wheel of a car."
"All of my officers get asked, how much can I drink before I am over the limit and we have to keep saying there is no rule on this, it can't be half a pint it could be one pint. My advice to people is that if you are going to get behind the wheel of a car, please just don't drink."
It comes as a survey suggest only having one drink is the most common excuse heard for drink-driving.
Three out of five (62%) respondents to a poll of more than 12,000 AA members said people have used that reason to justify getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.
Other frequent excuses heard are claiming food will "soak up the alcohol" (41%), only driving a short distance (40%) and "it's been a while" since their last drink (31%).
Latest Department for Transport figures show fatalities from drink-drive crashes are at a 12-year high.
An estimated 260 people were killed in collisions on Britain's roads involving a driver over the alcohol limit in 2021 - the highest annual total since 2009.
The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
People convicted of drink-driving face being disqualified for at least a year and an unlimited fine. Offenders can be sent to prison in the most serious cases.