Data shows women who get caught for drink-driving offences face shorter average bans than men
According to new statistics regarding drink driving offences in the UK, males outnumber females by four to one.
However, women caught for a drink-driving offence face shorter average bans than men.
IAM Roadsmart’s data from last year’s rehab course also shows that it’s the women who are the ones most likely to drink more alcohol before taking control of a vehicle.
On average, drivers pulled up for a drink-driving offence are 2.1 times over the limit, which normally means a ban for 20 months.
New drink-driver stats reveal differences between men and women © Copyright Mat Fascione and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
Males may outnumber females by four to one but women in their 30s were the ones found to be almost two-and-a-half times over the limit – the worst of all age and gender groups.
In spite of this revelation, women were given a much shorter driving ban (around 90 days) than men.
One 48-year-old woman from Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, who was pulled over by the police and tested for alcohol consumption by the roadside, registered 161mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. These figures meant she was almost 5 times over the limit of 35mg and was given a three-year ban.
Figures showing the highest readings revealed three out of five were recorded by women but despite this, a 35-year-old man from Slough, in Berkshire, received the longest ban – five years.
IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research Neil Greig said: “In general, women are far less likely to commit any motoring offence. Those who do shouldn’t expect any less in terms of fines or bans.”
Mr Greig also said that as a result of recent studies, there’s some suggestion that women are “catching up” with their male counterparts when it comes to drink-driving offences but they still have a lot of catching up to do.
According to IAM Roadsmart’s data, the worst offenders were drivers in their forties and fifties, whereas drivers in their twenties were less likely to offend.
“The hard core minority who continue to ignore limits are one of the toughest nuts to crack,” added Mr Greig.
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