Businesses ignore drink driving risks after Christmas party
Businesses who employ people who drive as part of their job are risking drink driving incidents by expecting employees to drive the day after their Christmas party.
A new survey of 250 directors carried out by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has found that 59% of companies will expect employees to drive the morning after the night before.
This considerably rises the chance of a drink driving incident, but 48% of companies fail to provide any drink-driving awareness training at this time of year, with 35% waiting until a drink-driving incident has occurred before taking any action.
This is despite more than half (52%) experiencing a drink-driving incident at some point over the past three years, with 54% saying the incidents had a damaging effect on their business.
Time (36%) and cost (32%) were identified as the two biggest barriers to investing in training.
Worrying picture
Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at IAM RoadSmart, said: “These results paint a very worrying picture of existing attitudes towards drink driving awareness among some SMEs across the UK. It would seem many businesses are failing to properly educate drivers or even test them for alcohol, particularly during the festive season when drink drive occurrences rise.“Not only is drink driving a significant danger to business drivers and other road users, but it can also inflict serious reputational harm on firms and cause their repair costs and insurance premiums to soar.
“Companies should switch from a reactive to a proactive stance, taking steps to ensure drivers are aware of the risks and, in doing so, minimise the chance of an incident occurring.
“Businesses should also consider ways to reduce the risks associated with the office Christmas party, such as throwing it at the end of the week when employees don’t need to drive the next day, offering accommodation or transport, or putting on an alcohol-free bash.”
