Thinking of drinking over Christmas?

Drinking over Christmas.

Last Year, we at Gap Insurance 123 wished all readers and customers alike a pleasant and safe time over the festive period. However, during a drink driving campaign arrests and prosecutions went up over the festive period due to the amount of people getting into their car the morning after the night before and being still over the limit.

A survey by an online resource has revealed that those living in the countryside are twice as likely to have a drink or drug-driving charge than those living in built-up areas. The results highlight the UK's hotspots for such cases and those most likely to offend.

Top postcodes for charges.

The top of the survey was dominated by Scotland and Wales for the postcodes with the most convictions. Following them are Aberdeen, Iverness, Dundee, Kirkcaldy in the top ten. Cardiff and Swansea were close behind. At the bottom of the table was Central London, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester.

The profession of those convicted.

The top five professions of those convicted were;

• Scaffolders at 4.6 convictions per 1000 quotes/year.

• Builders at 4.0 convictions per 1000 quotes/year.

• Labourers at 4.0 convictions per 1000 quotes/year.

• Roofers at 4.0 convictions per 1000 quotes/year.

• Floor Layers at 4.0 convictions per 1000 quotes/year.

The safest professions recorded were;

• Midwives.

• Paramedics.

• Taxi Drivers.

• Driving Instructors.

The best selling cars this year in the form of the Ford Fiesta and the Vauxhall models may get caught up in the amount of convictions for owners and drivers due to the sheer amount of sales the two brands received within the UK. However, as you can see above Van drivers of models such as the Ford Transit or Dodge models may find it hard to avoid the growing reputation of drink driving.

Comments on the results.

Kevin Pratt, a Car Insurance Expert commented, “The manual occupations at the top of the table are typical 'thirsty' jobs, where many workers finish work relatively early and go to the pub. They're also jobs that involve early starts, driving to the site and starting work first thing the morning, even after a night out. There's a risk workers can take to the road before the alcohol has left their system, which means they would read positive if breathalysed.”

Simon Best, IAM Chief Exeutive commented, “Offenders may think they stand more chance of getting away with it in quiet rural areas but these roads are actually the most dangerous, with more fatalities than on city streets. A hard day's work may seem a good justification for a quick pint on the way home but responsibility for your and others safety comes with every driving licence.”

The results of the survey.

According to the survey results, motorists in North Scotland and Mid Wales are most likely to have a conviction. The rates were at 1.51 and 1.4 per 1000 quotes/year respectively. These results are twice the amount of those living in the Greater London area, which is at just 0.77 convictions. To get their drink and drug-driving charges survey results the company analysed almost 12million insurance quotes over a 12 month period.