Relaxation in drinking laws could lead to more drink drive convictions

The change in licensing law could potentially lead to a greater number of drink drive convictions, the A&A Group Ltd has warned.

The award winning A&A Group, which specialises in non-standard motor insurance, says that if people are drinking longer then the likelihood of them still being over the limit when they get behind the wheel the next morning is heightened.

The drink driving debate hit the headlines only recently with the latest drink drive figures issued by the Department of Transport revealing that last year more people had been killed in drink drive accidents than at any time since 1992, once again sparking the debate that the drink drive limit should be cut from 80mg to 50mg.

Tony Allen, Chief Executive of the A&A Group, which incorporates high profile brands Hyperformance and Quoteacar.co.uk, is concerned that many less experienced and young drivers may not be aware of the length of time it takes for their system to be clear of alcohol and quite innocently get into their car after a long night in a pub or club which could lead to an increase in the number of convictions or worse.

He commented: “In the light of the new licensing laws it is now more important than ever before that drivers are aware of the dangers of driving the morning after the night before and it is absolutely critical that this is not taken lightly.

“There has been a general relaxation in the stigma of speeding offences with the advent of speeding cameras. It is estimated that more than 2.5 million drivers have three or more points on their licence – a statistic which is increasing by the day. This has led, in Tony Allen’s view, to the offence almost being trivialised, with points on driving licences almost being accepted as the norm.

But, he says this is not the case, with drink driving convictions.

He continued: “Whilst many insurers treat drivers with three points on their licence almost as the norm, they still take a very dim view of drivers with drink drive convictions.

“Whilst the A&A Group prides itself of treating every customer as an individual, looking at the nature of an offence, driving history etc to assess a future risk, any drink drive conviction will still have a significant impact on insurance premiums regardless of the circumstances.

“We would therefore hate to see our young drivers falling foul of the law through being unaware of the potential dangers.”