Christmas is a time of parties and social engagements - but when it comes to drinking it is a time of ignorance. There has been an alarming rise in the number of motorists drink-driving in the region from December 11 2002 to January 2 2003 - and some experts say its because people are still unsure how many drinks constitutes the legal limit. As the Christmas party season got underway, motorists were unaware of what a single unit was and that they could still be over the legal limit - 35 microgrammes of alcohol in blood - the morning after a heavy night of drinking, said Dynah Lane, coordinator of the Aquarius DRIVE project. Based in New Street, Birmingham, the project puts drink-driving offenders through a driving safety course in return for reducing the number of points on their licence. "Drinks such as Aftershock or a shot of vodka are more popular - they are quicker to drink and people think that because they are not sitting for hours with a pint on the table they are not consuming as much alcohol - but they are," she said. Measures in the pubs had also become bigger. "Wine glasses are double the size they were two years ago, but people will think they can have one glass of wine for the road. I am both surprised and disappointed that the figures have gone up." Roger Vincent, spokesman for the Birmingham-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: "In the past it seemed to be only the hardened drinkers, people aged over 40, who continued to drink and drive, it seemed that younger people had got the message. "But people are now starting to drink again, and some research in Northern Ireland has shown the problem is predominantly among young people. "People are also driving the next morning after having had too much to drink the night before. "Even when people don't exceed the limit, there is a real temptation to drink right up to it. But it is not a safety test, it is just a limit to pass a breathalsyer test." Lis Lewis-Jones, of Willoughby Public Relations, Birmingham, specialises in advertising and PR for corporate clients. She said that the rise in the number of offenders could be down to the lack of a high-profile television campaign over Christmas and the lack of anti-drink-driving messages in general. She said: "I did not see a big advertising campaign last year. The last one I do remember was a few years ago during the summer. The advert was about a group of friends having a barbecue and one of them went out to get some more drinks. "There was a crash, it was very detailed and graphic. Those sort of amake you think twice. The key message of no drink driving should be put on throughout the year. If that happened then perhaps it would cut it. "The advertisers should make sure that articles on it are placed in the press all year round. "A campaign at the end of last year offered a £500 reward for shopping your friend for drink-driving. Maybe that's why more people have been caught. "It could be a good thing the figures have gone up - it means more people are reporting their friends." Edmund King, director of the RAC Foundation agreed that the advertising campaigns might not be working. He said: "This is a great worry for us because we hoped the message was getting across. We think the message may not have hit home among the young people. "The only way to stop the offending is to breakdown the figures and target ad campaigns at the relevant people. The problem is no longer with the mainstream motorist - they have got the message. "We are extremely concerned at the latest figures and will be consulting West Midlands Police to get a breakdown of the statistics and look at the way forward." Simon Woodings, Midlands AA spokesman, said that Britain had the best anti-drink-driving laws in Europe. "That is something to be proud of," he said. "It is better not to be alarmist. We should analyse the figures first and then we will have a clearer view of the situation." Back to main story | 
