West Londoners are some of the worst in the capital for turning a blind eye to drink-driving, a new study has found.
Research for not-for-profit campaign, Don't Be That Someone, has revealed nine out of ten west Londoners would let friends drink and drive and one in three adults have knowingly accepted lifts from people despite thinking they have drunk too much to drive safely.
The survey - carried out by minicab price comparison, booking and payment service app, Kabbee - showed how only 12 per cent of people in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow would refuse a lift if the driver had consumed two large glasses of wine or three pints of beer in the five hours before the journey.
Everybody processes alcohol at different rates but that amount of alcohol would generally make a person over the limit. UK law states that the alcohol limit for drivers is 80 milligrames of alcohol per 100 miliitres of blood.
More than one in 20 people from the seven boroughs only drew the line at accepting a lift from someone who had consumed more than four large glasses of wine (equivalent to a bottle) or five pints of beer, however just five per cent would refuse a ride if the driver had drunk a single pint five hours or less beforehand.
Mike McAdam is founder of the award-winning drink-driving campaign, Don't Be That Someone. He warned: “Typical anti-drink drive campaigns target potential drink drivers. But if we’re going to make a difference, we need to go beyond what’s ‘typical’. That’s why we’re targeting the non-drivers.
"We want passengers to turn down lifts from friends who have been drinking and find themselves and their would-be drivers another way home – and that’s not a lot to ask now that buses and minicabs are so accessible and affordable. And we ask anyone who sees someone get behind the wheel after drinking to report it to the police. Stopping a drink driver is heroic – and it could well save lives.”
Almost one in five people questioned in west London said they accepted a lift from somebody over the limit because the driver's abilities did not seem impaired, while a shocking five per cent said they accepted a lift because they felt it was safer than taking the tube or train home.
One of the most painful statistics revealed by the survey, showed the majority (88 per cent) of west Londoners do not consistently stop people they know have been drinking from driving. 10 per cent said they felt it was not their place while others said they had not stopped them because they seemed okay and could make their own decisions.
