Quarter admit to cycling whilst drunk
Police should be taking the problem of people cycling while under the influence of alcohol as seriously as they take drink-drivers, according to Flexed.co.uk.
That’s the opinion of a national car leasing company which has found that over a quarter of bike owners have admitted to taking to the roads while drunk, while nearly 90% are unaware that there’s a specific traffic offence.
The Flexed.co.uk car leasing company said that while cyclists are probably at more risk to themselves while under the influence, there’s still the possibility of serious life-changing accidents that can easily be avoided with a simple phone call for a taxi home from the pub.
‘Unfortunately, the myth that being drunk in charge of a cycle isn’t a crime still persists,’ said Flexed.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall, ‘It does, it’s real, even though it doesn’t mean getting points on your driving licence if you get caught.’
Flexed.co.uk asked 1200 people who own (or have owned) a bicycle whether they’ve ridden it while drunk. The survey found 27% said yes, whilst 73% said no.
The company then asked if they’d ridden a bike while drunk specifically to avoid getting points on their driving licence because they knew they’d be ‘having a few’. Sixteen per cent said yes, whilst 84% said they hadn’t.
In fact, nine out of ten asked didn’t know that drunk cycling was a specific offence. Asked by Flexed.co.uk, 88% were unaware of the letter of the law.
