Government festive drink-drive campaign targets young men and their 'fear of missing out'

Nearly two thirds of drink-drivers killed in crashes in England and Wales are young men, according to the Government, which has launched a Christmas campaign aimed at the group.

Research from the Department for Transport – which is targeting the group’s ‘fear of missing out’ – found that 62% of drink-driver fatalities are men aged 17 to 34.

The department’s research found that 20% of young men have got behind the wheel after having two or more drinks, with a third of adults saying they felt it wouldn’t affect their driving.

And a study by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence found that a second drink doubles a driver’s chances of being involved in a fatal collision.

The month-long Think! campaign, launched on Thursday, will see a new advert being released every day on Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.

The Government has also teamed up with Coca-Cola to offer two-for-one soft drinks to motorists in 8,000 pubs across the country in a bid to encourage designated drivers who avoid alcohol.

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Road Safety Minister Andrew Jones said drink-driving, which kills five people every week, “destroys families and ruins lives”.

He said: “This Christmas we are specifically targeting the biggest perpetrators of this devastating crime – young men. But our message to everyone remains the same: don’t drink and drive.”

The campaign coincides with a month-long police operation to combat drink- and drug-driving during the festive period, with forces around the country targeting known hotspots.

In December last year police forces carried out 110,226 breath tests, of which 5,543 were positive, failed or refused, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Some 1,888 drug screening tests were conducted during the same period, with almost half turning out positive.

Research by price comparison website MoneySuperMarket found that, for the second year running, Crewe has the highest proportion of motorists with drink- or drug-driving convictions with a rate of 1.66 convictions per 1,000 drivers.

Llandrindod Wells in Powys was ranked second, according to the study, followed by Hereford in third place.

London dominated the list of postcodes with the lowest conviction rates, with the north-west of the capital having just 0.53 drink or drug drivers per 1,000.

The figures were based on 9.8m car insurance quotes over the last 12 months.

(Top picture: PA)