Is being a designated driver a bad idea? It could cost you (2025)

Being designated driver on a night out might seem like a selfless act but it could end up costing motorists big, a major insurer warns.

Drunk passengers put designated drivers at risk of collisions or near misses due to dangerous behaviour, research from Direct Line shows.

A quarter of drivers typically choose to not drink at social events so they can drive their friends and family home safely, yet more than a third say they have had problems with drunk passengers being rowdy or disruptive in the car in the last 12 months.

Disorderly passengers aren't just annoying, they can be dangerous.

The most recent data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) shows that 12 collisions per day happened because of drink driving - 4,620 over the course of the year.

The survey of 2,000 UK suggests that whilst motorists are stepping up to the plate as designated drivers to ensure the safety of their loved ones, drunk passengers are letting the side down with their behaviour.

The distractions drunk passengers are causing are undermining these positive measures and putting lives on the line: One in five designated drivers said the disruption either caused a collision or nearly caused a collision.

The other troubling finding is that peer pressure to drink might also be putting people at risk.

Over a third of those who have been a designated driver in the past say they had experienced pressure from their friends, family or colleagues to drink despite volunteering to drive them home.

Matt Pernet, head of motor Insurance at Direct Line, said: 'Choosing a designated driver or alternative transport is one of the simplest, yet most effective, ways to ensure everyone gets home safely.

'Whether a passenger in a private vehicle or in a taxi, it is on all of us to make sure those drivers aren’t at risk of being distracted on the road.

'We urge everyone planning social events this bank holiday to plan their journey and consider the safest route home. Safe roads are everyone’s responsibility, not just the person driving.'

Drivers back tougher sentences to tackle drink driving

At the end of last year motorists rallied behind calls for harsher punishments for drink-driving.

Nearly two in five licence holders polled by the RAC chose harsher punishments for people who get behind the wheel drunk when asked to choose three out of eight options that would best curb drink-driving.

Reducing the legal alcohol limit to zero was the second most popular option (34 per cent) among the 2,691 drivers surveyed, followed by giving the police new powers to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside (33 per cent).

The would be more stringent than current consequences.

At the moment courts can impose driving bans, meaning after a drink-driver is caught they can continue to drive until their court appearance and motorists face a minimum disqualification period of 12 months if they are convicted of drink-driving.

Rod Dennis, RAC road safety spokesman, said: 'It's clear motorists want to see something done differently to tackle the scourge of drink-driving, which is still responsible for the loss of far too many lives every year.

'Shockingly, government data shows we're back to a similar rate of fatalities caused by people drinking and driving as we were in the late 1980s, and that a significant number of drink-drive offences are committed by reoffenders.'

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