Only four out of ten UK motorists would call the Police if they thought a car was being driven by a drunk driver, new research has found
A quarter (25%) would ignore it completely if they saw a car meandering in the road or doing something else unusual. And a third of drivers (34%) simply couldn’t say whether they would do anything or not.
The poll by AlcoSense Breathalysers discovered a more liberal attitude to drink driving amongst the older generation.
Around 45% of motorists up to the age of 44 would call the Police if they suspected a drunk driver. But just 38% of those aged 45 plus said they would do so.
“You will need to examine your conscience if you fail to report someone driving erratically, and a fatal accident then occurs,” says Hunter Abbott, MD of AlcoSense and a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.
When asked if they had actually reported someone for drink driving, men (31%) were more responsible than women (23%).
Amongst 18-24-year-olds who claimed they would take action, however, less than a fifth have done so.
The research comes in the light of this year’s THINK! a campaign encouraging young men to intervene when a mate is tempted to drive when drunk.
The number of motorists in England and Wales found to be over the drink drive limit last Christmas, including those who refused the test, was 4,816 – a failure rate of nearly 8%.
