You could be fined £2,500 for standing NEXT to your car after drinking in Doncaster this Christmas

However, car and van leasing company, Vanarama is warning Brits that simply standing NEXT to your car whilst under the influence of alcohol can land you a £2,500 driving fine.

Simply standing next to your car whilst over the drinking limit, can result in a hefty fine and three months imprisonment.

If you have consumed more than the legal alcohol limit, you shouldn’t go anywhere near your car as you could be charged with drunk driving – and as well as fines and prison, a driving ban.

Under English law, it is entirely possible to be charged with drunk driving without having been behind the wheel. If it can be proven that you were intending to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, then you could be charged with drunk driving. Indicators of this include:

Standing next to your vehicle

Being inside your vehicle but not in the driving seat

Having the keys in the ignition

Having a reason to drive, such as needing to be at work or having a booked appointment, which provides a clear motivation for you to get behind the wheel despite being over the alcohol limit, can be seen as evidence of your intentions.

If you have consumed more than the legal alcohol limit, you shouldn’t go anywhere near your car as you could be charged with drunk driving – which could result in up to three months imprisonment, up to £2,500 in fines and a possible driving ban.

If you drive or attempt to drive under the influence of alcohol, this raises this to six months imprisonment, unlimited fines, and a driving ban of at least one year.

And 1 in 4 Brits could unknowingly break the law by drinking a glass of champagne and then driving this Christmas.

Vanarama also surveyed 1,000 Brits on their drink-driving knowledge, revealing that almost a quarter (22.6%) of motorists wrongly believe that a glass of champagne with food would have no effect on their ability to drive. Against the UK driving population (36 million), that means just over 10 million drivers could break the law this year, should they drive straight away.

The survey also showed that almost a third (28.8%) of UK motorists are unaware that driving after two small glasses of wine is illegal. This is because it takes your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) beyond England, Wales, and Northern Ireland limit of 0.08%, or 80mg of alcohol for every 100ml of blood.

In Scotland, that limit is even lower at 0.05% and 50mg of alcohol.

How long you should wait to drive, depending on your tipple of choice

Vanarama has also shared how long you should wait to drive after drinking the most common alcoholic choices:

A large glass of wine – 5 hours

Sex on the beach cocktail – 4 hours

Double vodka – 4 hours

Pint of cider – 4 hours

Long island iced tea – 3.5 hours

Pint of lager – 3.5 hours

Pina colada – 3 hours

A standard glass of champagne – 2.5 hours

Single gin – 2.5 hours

Drinking 3-4 pints before driving makes you 11 times more likely to die in a crash

Affecting reaction times, coordination, vision and even our judgement, alcohol is best served without driving.

According to the independent charity Drinkaware, even drivers with a BAC of less than 0.05% (roughly one and a bit pints of lager) have a three-times risk of dying in a vehicle crash. Those between 0.08% and 0.10%, equivalent to only three or four pints, are 11 times more likely to die in a crash.

Although there’s been a drop in recent years, 7,800 people are estimated to have been killed or injured in 2019 when at least one driver was over the limit, according to the Department for Transport’s latest published statistics.

Full details are available HERE