Is It Worth Drinking Alcohol And Driving?

For many people, life is difficult enough trying to make ends meet without making things even harder. So, whilst it is nice to have a drink, do you really want to be getting in your vehicle having had an alcoholic drink or two at the local pub on a warm summer’s day and driving the short distance back to your home?

car insurance pemiums may rise if you are convicted of drink driving

Don't drink alchohol and drive!

Driving with alcohol in your system may impair your ability to drive a vehicle in some way so you may not only be putting your own life at risk but also that of your passengers, other motorists and pedestrians. As well as that, those people that are caught drink driving and being over the legal limit, are likely to see their car insurance premiums increase significantly – an additional expense that many could do without.

One of the factors that affect increases for drink driving offences is the motorist’s age. According to figures produced by the comparison website Moneysupermarket.com someone caught drink driving that is aged 50 could see their premium increase by as much as 121% resulting in an increase from £181 to £399 per annum. If you are in your sixties, the increase averages 107% with annual premiums going up from £173 to as much as £360. If you fall within the age group of 20 to 25, you could be faced with an increase of 53% from £705 to £1,075 per annum.

These increases are significant and will impact on you financially for many years to come. The premium does not just increase for one year and is then reduced to a similar level that you were paying before being caught drink driving- quite the contrary.

In addition to seeing your car insurance premium increase, you could also be faced with a driving ban for as much as 12 months, a fine of as much as £5,000, points on your driving license and spending some time in a prison cell.

So, is it worth drinking alcohol and driving? Definitely not! Have a soft drink instead.