New Year’s Day has been the worst day for drink drivers for the last four years

• More than 119 motorists were caught drink-driving on New Year’s Day in 2017 – the most offences recorded on a single day(1).
• One in four (25%) drivers admit they have driven in the morning, despite thinking they might still be over the limit from the night before.
• Confused.com creates new morning after calculator, which shows drivers how much alcohol is in their system the morning after drinking, ahead of New Year’s Eve, the most celebrated event of the year.
• More than 3,500 drivers were caught drink driving in January 2017, with more than 31,000 drivers failing roadside breathalyser tests this year (2).

New Year’s Eve is one of the most celebrated days of the calendar, and no doubt UK drivers are very much looking forward to clinking a drink or two when the clock strikes midnight.

But, a word of warning to party-goers, new research by Confused.com, the driver savings site, found more drink-drivers have been caught on New Year’s Day for the past four years, more than any other date in the calendar. According to new Freedom of Information data, obtained by Confused.com, 119 drivers failed breathalyser tests on the 1st January 2017(1).

It seems some drivers are waking up in the New Year without giving any thought to how much alcohol might still be in their system from the previous night’s festivities. But it is clear this is the day when drivers are most likely to get caught by police.

However, motorists are getting caught out the ‘morning after’ on other days of the year, too. Further research by Confused.com found one in four (25%) drivers have driven the morning after a night out, despite thinking they are still over the limit. And of those who have been caught drink driving, almost a third (32%) fell foul of the offence the following morning. To help drivers avoid any future mishaps, Confused.com has created a morning after calculator, which gives drivers an indication of when their body should be free of alcohol, based on how many units they consumed and when they stopped drinking.

Despite numerous campaigns and warnings, drink-driving is still proving to be an issue on UK roads. So far this year, 31,314(2) have failed the roadside breathalyser tests, with 3,542 offences recorded in January alone. This is despite popular fund-raising campaigns like ‘Dry January’, which encourages people to give up alcohol for the entire month.

Regardless of what time you finish drinking, or how much you drink, drivers should be especially vigilant over the party period, as no doubt the police will be out in full force to catch those who might take the risk. But it’s men in particular who need to be the most careful on New Year’s Day, as the data shows they are usually the culprit. In fact, so far this year, a whopping 16,704 men failed the roadside breathalyser test, compared to only 3,600 women(1)(3).

And worryingly, many drivers still don’t seem to know when they are over the limit. More than one in 10 (11%) motorists don’t know how many units are in their drink of choice, and a further one in 10 (10%) don’t actually know the legal UK drink-drive limit.

As motorists let loose over the Christmas and New Year period, it can be difficult to keep track of how many glasses of champagne they are knocking back. But monitoring alcohol intake can certainly help motorists decide when is safe to drive. To help drivers keep a tab on the effect of their alcohol consumption, Confused.com’s morning-after calculator allows users to input their drink of choice, how many glasses they have had, and when they stopped drinking, to estimate when their body will be free of any trace of alcohol.

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, says: “New Year’s Day is a fresh start for a lot of people, but unfortunately some drivers are starting the year the wrong way.

“The fact the most offenders are consistently caught on this day suggests drivers are getting behind the wheel while they’re still over the limit from seeing in the New Year the night before. Alcohol can take a lot longer to leave the body than expected, so Confused.com has created a morning after calculator which gives an indication of when alcohol should have left your body.

“We don’t expect drivers to give up alcohol on New Year’s Eve, but we strongly advise they plan their night sensibly and make sure they are leaving enough time between drinking and driving the next morning, to eliminate the slightest chance they might still be over the limit.”