When did drink driving become socially unacceptable?

[Globetrote]

Like the title says - when in the UK did it become unacceptable from a moral and social viewpoint? I see online that the first law with alcohol legal limits was introduced in 1967, but the first public campaign was earlier in 1964 and aimed at housewives to pressurise their husbands not to drink drive.

The reason I ask is this - I was born in another country with similar timeframes for drink driving laws/campaign, but my father regularly drove drunk. I remember it clearly in the 1980s when I was a child being petrified, car often swerving across lanes and he nearly passed out at the wheel, but he never got caught until about 20 years ago when he lost his license for 6 months (again, not in the UK/EU). He thought the it was hilarious to have to get the bus for 6 months, and had no shame.

I was talking to a friend and she said ‘oh everyone was drunk driving in the 80’s, you shouldn’t be bothered about it as it wasn’t just you.’

I knew what he was doing was wrong, I remember the public campaigns in my country, and I hear that they had similar here in England. Did people just not give a shit back then? When did attitudes start to change?

My father and I are NC now for many reasons, but it makes me angry how he played roulette with my life and that of others on the road and has no conscience about it - and then my friend just discounted my feelings about it like it was all nonsense and no big deal.

(parents were divorced and DM never knew until years later).

I think the tolerance level has dropped significantly in recent years... from 2-3 pints, to two pints, to one pint max, if anything. Plus the acknowledgement of next day levels.

This has sort of reminded me to remind DH that the alcohol limit is lower in Scotland... he moves there next week! And that even one pint is over there.

I have Irish family and I believe the law changed later there. Either way, my Irish family were drink drivers in the late 80’s/early 90’s and the “excuse” was that they always did it at home and it wasn’t an issue.

I'm Gen X and I think it's really my generation onwards too. Although as pp have said lots of my friends distinguish between drink and drugs which I think is bullshit.

Stupid thing, but there was a storyline on Eastenders in (I think) about the early 90s where Pat Butcher killed someone while driving over the limit and went to prison. Must have been around the time I started driving but it had a powerful impression! Kept thinking how could I live with myself if I hurt someone driving after drinking. So I just never have.

I would say around the time seatbelts were made mandatory

Don’t forget kids weren’t allowed in pubs until quite recently. And pubs didn’t serve food either.
So most people didn’t go out drinking with kids in tow.
(Kids were allowed in the beer garden at some places, but you were limited to daylight hours then)

I passed my test in 1985 when I was 17 and it never occurred to me to drink and drive. I don’t remember any friends doing it either.

My DD has a friend who thinks nothing of driving after a bottle of wine (early 20s).

It was commonplace in the 80s

This is interesting to read! I was born late 70s and don’t remember my parents ever doing it in the 80s- they would have looked down on anyone who did. They were very law abiding folk though and not big drinkers.

I worked in a pub in the mid 90s and I remember one of the regulars leaving the pub pretty pissed after a bottle or two of wine (I had only just started working there and hadn’t realised she was a regular, nor that she was driving) . Shortly afterwards, a shocked woman came into the pub saying someone had just swerved out of the car park and nearly run her off the road into a ditch. I went and told the landlord and said ‘we know who that was- we should report her’. He laughed and said ‘Nah, that’s just standard Tracy’. I was shocked!

It became more socially unacceptable around the time that HS&E was taken more seriously at work, so probably early 1990s in my industry. Managers had to empty their office drinks cabinets, and team lunches became soft drinks only. But those managers would have been the Baby Boomer generation, as am I , so not a Gen X thing as suggested upthread.
I am in Scotland and it’s just not even a thing with my circle of friends - only limit is zero for driving.

My family live in a rural area, everyone knows each other, will always frequent very local shops and restaurants, only use very local tradespeople etc. Essentially, their own little economy!

Until just a few years ago, the local policeman would turn a blind eye to anyone driving home from the local pub after having a few. He’d follow their car home in his car to make sure nothing happened. My mum never drinks so it never affected them, but it happened all the time.

So I'm not sure it is socially unacceptable everywhere.

Haha I was just about to mention Pat Butcher! She was driving a taxi too and had had 3 or 4 gin and tonics. I remember no one thought anything of her driving the taxi after a few drinks even after she killed someone!

I certainly knew a lot of people doing it in the late 90s and early 00s. I only know of one person who regularly does it now.

My DH has friends living in Spain who think nothing of having quite a lot of drinks with a meal and then driving home. Literally everyone in their social circle does it- I find it appalling. I believe the legal limit is lower in Spain that it is here but it doesn’t seem to put anyone off. When I asked one of them about it he said ‘no one ever gets caught’ as if that’s the only consideration 🙄

FIL still drank and drove until the late 80s. Probably a bit beyond then. My dad wasn’t a drinker so it wasn’t a thing in our house.

I passed my test in1980 and I have never ever driven after drinking, my siblings are older than me and all bar one never drove after drinking. We lived in a sleepy backwater so had to learn to drive as soon as we were old enough as public transport was almost non existent.
I do know of one person who still regularly drinks and drives, he's been banned twice. He's a millionaire so there's really no reason why he couldn't afford a taxi, it's pretty bloody disgraceful.

We live in Scotland and some people still have a pint and drive in the local pubs here. I wouldn't ever get in a car with someone who does even if they said they'd had no drinks. I think it crazy to, the limit in Scotland is lower than England and Wales but we barely see any police cars now routinely stopping people except around Christmas and New year so many just get away with it.

Late 80s, early 90s I'd say.

I remember my uncle being banned a few times in the early 80,s for drunk driving ,
His excuse was he had only been drinking beer not spirits !
My Dad drove over the limit on numerous occasions not out right pissed,but more than he should have

I think that campaign with "in the summertime" was a big turning point but it's also generational, my generation (I'm in my 50's) has always found it unacceptable

Well it seems to have been replaced by speeding and people pulling out in front of you at junctions without looking.

I’m in my fifties and I don’t remember it ever being acceptable, even when I was a child. I remember plenty of people who would have one or maybe two drinks when they were driving, so they were not completely sober, but carefully calculated to stay under the limit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone set off to drive who was actually drunk (and if I did I hope I’d have the courage to confiscate their car key).

I think it depends on age. It went on being acceptable for my generation long after the younger generation stopped.

20 years ago there were still a lot of rural pubs that were only accessible by car. Many of them shut down in the next 5 years. So I think that 15-20 years ago was when the balance tipped.

It seems to have become unacceptable in the last 30 years for alcohol, but judging by the smell, drug smoking has replaced it.

varies in location. I imagine in the north of England it's still widely accepted. probably also acceptable in the rural south west.

Late 70s/early 80s. I used to test the 3rd sample of blood (police had one tested, kept one in the freezer and took a 3rd sample which was given to the offender for them to get independently tested.)

Consequently we also used to drink 2 pints in the pub at lunchtime, with and without food, and take samples of blood to test our blood alcohol levels at 20 minute intervals to find out how quickly we metabolised the alcohol. Back then as a not quite 20 year old, it was all gone within a couple of hours or so.
It was very much being frowned upon at the time, there were a lot of big alcohol fuelled crashes and concern was building, but fines and driver bans weren't as hefty then.