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Young drink drivers - Don't do it
Young drink drivers - Don't do it Young peoples' binge drinking
habits have been a major UK health concern for a good few years.
It seems that social pressure leads many young people to drink
more heavily than their bodies can handle, especially at the
weekends when large quantities of alcohol are consumed.
Unfortunately, this means that there are also many young drink
drivers on our roads as well.
One in five new drivers has an accident within their first year
of driving. Speeding, pressure from friends to go faster and
tiredness are all major contributors to road accidents caused by
young drivers.
However, alcohol is also a huge danger when combined with a
young driver. Alcohol decreases awareness and coordination,
slows reactions and blurs vision. These all inhibit driving
performance and a driver's inability to make sound judgements
may leave them convinced that they are driving safely, making it
very likely for drink drivers to cause a road accident.
Inexperienced, young drivers are also much more likely to crash.
The majority of drink driving road accidents occur between 10pm
and 4am on Friday and Saturday nights when everyone is out
letting their hair down for the weekends. Young drivers are more
likely to have a car crash in the evenings and early mornings,
suggesting a clear link between the majority of drink driving
accidents and young driver accidents.
The consequences of drink driving Although 17-21 year olds only
represent 7% of UK driving licence holders they make up 13% of
drivers involved in road accidents that result in personal
injuries. There are many other consequences of driving while
under the influence of alcohol:
A monetary fine Points on your licence A driving ban Damage to
your car or another vehicle A criminal record Imprisonment Most
significantly if drink driving you could seriously injure or
kill someone, 1 in 7 road accident fatalities are associated
with drink driving (DETR, 1999). This is a big price to pay and
something that you will have to live with for the rest of your
life.
Being involved in a drink driving accident can also affect your
young driver car insurance premium. Car insurance companies will
see you as a big risk if you have previously caused a road
accident and increase your car insurance rates. Also you can
expect to see an increase in your motor insurance when you
return to the road after being issued with a drink driving ban.
Drink driving campaigns for young drivers Many believe that pubs
and clubs have a responsibility to discourage young people from
drink driving. Some pubs display THINK campaigns which aim to
raise motorists' awareness of various road safety issues however
the presence of drink driving campaigns seem to be few and far
between.
Cynics could speculate that this is because pubs generate a lot
of revenue from the sale of alcoholic drinks to young customers
and they do not wish to shoot themselves in the foot. But, this
is an issue that should be addressed and some regions of the UK
have already taken action. For example, one drink driving
campaign put in place in selected pubs provides designated
drivers with free soft drinks to encourage them to stay off the
booze.
Drink driving advice for young drivers Two distinct types of
drink drivers have been identified. Some drink intentionally
because they believe that they won't get caught. This is foolish
because it is not worth the risk when considering the
consequences. On the other hand, some don't plan to drink but
are pressured into it or don't plan how to get home after a
night drinking and fail to look for alternative options. Here
are some tips on how to avoid drinking and driving:
Book a taxi home or stay at a mate's house overnight Take it in
turns among your friends to be the nominated driver and stick to
soft drinks Don't tease friends for drinking soft drinks and
push them into wanting a drink If your friend has been drinking
discourage them from driving. Even if they are under the legal
limit their driving may be impaired Remember that you could
still be over the legal limit the next morning To avoid paying
the consequences such as a driving ban, fine, young driver car
insurance rate increase or even living with the fact that you
have injured or killed someone as a result of your drink driving
DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.
http://www.hootcarinsurance.co.uk
About the author:
Hoot Car Insurance Services are specialists in providing
fantastically cheap young driver car insurance. For a free quote
in matter seconds just call 0808 144 9954 or go to
www.hootcarinsurance.co.uk.
Written by: Katy Lassetter http://www.hootcarinsurance.co.uk
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