Drink-drive? Then so will your children

Published: 6:15 AM December 23, 2015

Updated: 10:30 AM October 10, 2020

Like father, like son: Young people are more likely to drink and drive if their parents do. - Credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images

Young motorists are five times more likely to drink and drive if their parents do it, according to a new study.

A survey of 251 motorists aged 17 to 25 found that 37% admit to driving when over the alcohol limit.

But among those who said their parents drink-drive, 70% confessed to also doing it, compared to just 14% of those who have not seen their parents drunk behind the wheel.

Steve Barrett, head of car insurance at Churchill which commissioned the research, said: 'The immediate risks that those who drink-drive pose to other road users are widely known and very serious, but the knock-on impact on younger generations is extremely worrying.

'By drink-driving, parents are unofficially sanctioning this behaviour and as a result, young drivers are far more likely to put themselves and other road-users at risk by driving whilst intoxicated.'

And a survey of 2,000 Britons found that 29% admit to driving the morning after drinking when they believed they may still be over the legal limit.

Some 38% think it will not be legal for them to drive the morning after a Christmas celebration but 26% said they would get behind the wheel before 10am.