Free taxis for a year, or a failed breath test. ‘Your choice’, taxi firm tells New Years Eve revelers
With one in ten partygoers not knowing the drink drive limit according to Confused.com, and MoneySuperMarket reporting that millions will get behind the wheel this Christmas risking being one of the 45,000 motorists asked to blow into the dreaded breathalyser, Clacton taxi service, AJs and Amber Taxis, is reminding potential miscreants of the cost of a drink drive conviction.
December is the worst month for police stops, with over 100,000 drivers being the subjects of the blue light challenge in December 2016, over 5000 of which moved to convictions.
‘What most failed breathalyser drivers don’t realise, though, is the cost of the conviction,’ says Marek Pawilcz from AJ'S AND AMBER TAXI LTD
The Institute of Advanced Motorists calculate that the financial cost of a drink drive conviction, as a first offence, is between £20,000 and £50,000 if legal costs, fines, increased insurance and possible job losses are all added up. Even at the lower end that’s equivalent to a £55 taxi ride every day for a year.
‘We don’t have many customers who even think about paying over £50 for a taxi, day in, day out,’ adds Marek Pawilcz. ‘So anyone thinking of risking one too many for the road on New Years Eve should just reflect what they would prefer to spend their money on. A taxi, or a conviction.’
Being caught by the breathalyser is bad enough, but causing a fatal accident before the keys have been confiscated can result in more dire consequences, including imprisonment for up to 14 years.
‘We are backing the Government’s THINK campaign this December,’ says Marek Pawilcz, ‘emphasising the value of a night out taxi, as an alternative to a conviction risk’
One final reminder from AJ'S AND AMBER TAXI LTD ‘Nearly a third of drink drive convictions result from tests the morning after the celebrations. Best just to leave the car at home’