POLICE have not seen a spike in drink driving offences by women drivers over the last 12 months, despite alarming research results.
The research by national insurer AAMI shows 14 per cent of women admitted getting behind the wheel while drunk in 2012, up from 8 per cent in 2002.
This compared to 16 per cent of young men, down from 29 per cent over the same period.
Sergeant Jason Vandoren from the Hobsons Bay Highway Patrol said anecdotally he and his team had not seen any noticeable spike of women drivers over the prescribed level of alcohol in the last 12 months.
“It’s not as if last year compared to the year before we had a heap of females (drink-driving) it’s something that hasn’t bleeped on our radar,” Sgt Vandoren said.
The survey of 1100 drivers aged 18-24 revealed that the drink driving message is not getting through to young women, who are almost twice as likely to have driven while intoxicated compared to a decade ago.
Sgt Vandoren said a lot could happen in a decade and today people are more educated about the consequences of drink-driving.
“They might not be drinking more than they were 10 years ago and driving, they’re just probably more aware of it.”
“In relative terms, it’s is a bad thing if people are aware and still going to drive; it is more blatant than someone ignorant to the fact.”
Director Brendan Tenison-Woods from the Driver Education Centre of Australia (DECA), Altona North said young people were becoming desensitised to the ‘shock and awe’ tactics of precious educational campaigns.
