Ahead of the start of Scotland’s campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, leading road safety charity IAM RoadSmart is urging businesses to ensure that business drivers are properly educated about the dangers of drink-driving.
With fans set to celebrate the Scottish national side’s first World Cup outing since 1998, research estimates that a surge in beer, bets and takeaways over the next few weeks is set to add approximately £3.8 billion to UK GDP. While this is positive news from an economic standpoint, the expected increase in alcohol sales during this period means that the risk of drink-driving offences occurring is likely to rise considerably.
For companies whose workers drive on business, this presents a particular risk of employees still being under the influence of alcohol the day after a Scotland match, particularly as the teams’ group games are set to have a late-night, mid-week kick off for viewers in the UK.
Recent research conducted by IAM RoadSmart into existing drink-driving policies among small businesses uncovered a worrying lack of enforcement among fleets. While the findings showed that 52% of UK-based firms have experienced a drink-driving incident in the past three years, a further 35% of firms do not carry out weekly alcohol testing on their business drivers.
The research also highlighted dissatisfaction with existing drink-driving policy and training, with a total of 36% of respondents believing their business’ policy could be stronger. Meanwhile, 39% of companies that conduct in-house drink-driving awareness training reported not being fully satisfied with their provision.
Motorists who are caught drink-driving will automatically lose their licence, and could end up receiving a prison sentence and unlimited fine.
Nicholas Lyes, Policy & External Communications Director at IAM RoadSmart, said: “Drink-driving is a significant danger to business drivers and other road users, but can also inflict serious reputational harm on firms and cause repair costs and insurance premiums to rise.
“We strongly encourage firms to take steps to ensure drivers are aware of the risks, especially in the run up to the World Cup when more drinking typically takes place around and Scotland’s matches.
“With time a significant factor for companies when investing in training, IAM RoadSmart’s Toolbox Talks driver education workshops are designed to relieve the burden on firms to provide this training first-hand, giving business drivers access to expert-led sessions that help reduce the risks of drink-driving incidents before they happen. While investing in training naturally increases upfront costs for firms, the potential expense – both financial and reputational – of drink-driving incidents can be significantly higher.”
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More information about IAM RoadSmart’s Toolbox Talks sessions can be found here.
Further information about the charity’s Drink-Drive Rehabilitation Course can be found here.
The charity also provides rehabilitation courses for individuals convicted of a drink-driving offence. These court-referred courses can help to cut driving bans by up to 25% and change the way drivers think about alcohol and driving for good. Further information is available here.
