The dangers of 'morning after' motoring

3% of motorists admitted driving the morning after drinking

Many of us are unaware of the dangers of driving the morning after drinking - that's the finding of new research by the RAC.

So called 'morning after' motoring could be just as risky as drinking then getting straight into your car - the research discovered that seven out of ten motorists thought morning after drinking was extremely dangerous.

This figure compares with nine out of ten people who thought driving on the same day as drinking was extremely dangerous.

Breakfast's Yvonne Ndege has been finding out more, you can see her report by clicking on the link at the top right hand side of this page

"These findings show that we still need to achieve a cultural change to make this morning-after motoring socially unacceptable," said RAC spokeswoman Rebecca Bell.

Morning After Motoring

Companies need to ensure their employees aren't forced to drive after a night of heavy drinking.

Rebecca Bell, RAC

The RAC said that recent high profile cases demonstrated the frequency of morning-after motoring.

Aston Villa football star Lee Hendry was recently fined and banned from driving for 12 months after being found to be over the legal alcohol limit at 7.30am after attending a family party the night before.

Hendry has since been invited to take part in an alcohol education scheme.

Ms Bell said it was younger, affluent, male motorists, and those living in London and south-east England, who were more likely to view morning-after motoring as less dangerous.

Company car drivers were also more likely than private motorists to perceive driving after drinking heavily the night before as less dangerous.

She added: "Companies need to ensure their employees aren't forced to drive after a night of heavy drinking. This is a real issue for those attending events and conferences where an excess of alcohol may well be consumed."

The findings came in a report entitled Drink, Drugs and Driving, from the RAC. The report also showed that nine in 10 drivers considered driving while well over the alcohol limit to be an extremely serious crime - almost on a par with armed robbery.