Drink driving insurance – Facts and Figures

Drink driving in the UK is illegal and drink driving insurance is quite expensive. Drink driving is when one drives having alcohol levels that would affect their driving. People will often think that a drink driver is one who has consumed alcohol levels that would leave him staggering. Some think that the strict social drinker cannot fall into the category of drunk driving. This is not true, anyone who tests over the alcohol limit will be guilty of drunk driving, DR10. The set alcohol limit for drivers in the UK is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

The set limits are important since drunk driving greatly increases the risk of getting involved in a crash. Alcohol tends to give false confidence, reduce concentration, and slows down one’s reaction time. In 2011, 280 people died due to drink driving; one in every six deaths that occur due to road accidents is caused by a driver with alcohol levels over the limit. Every day, there are about 250 drivers who are found to be driving drunk despite risking a £5,000 fine, a minimum of 12 month driving ban and a criminal record.

All drivers with a record of drink driving will have a harder time getting car insurance. However this does not mean that individuals cannot access their car insurance policy if they are involved in an accident while over the alcohol limit. All insurance companies must cover their client’s costs for any involved third party whether the cause was drunk driving or not. When drink drivers are applying for insurance policies, they will be charged higher rates than the normal rates. However, there are some companies that solely concentrate on insuring convicted persons. These companies have cheaper premiums as compared to the other companies when it comes to insuring the convicted. Drink drivers who complete the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course will also be charged lower premiums by some insurance companies. Completing this course also helps reduce the length of one’s driving ban by up to 25%.

Drink driving insurance policies will vary in price depending on the insurance company and also the approach one uses to get their quote. Getting a quote for a broker will lead to a different price than when one directly gets a quote from the company. It is also wise to first do some thorough research of various companies before deciding on one.