By DAVID OLASEINDE

Published: 18:58 GMT, 26 December 2025 | Updated: 19:16 GMT, 26 December 2025

Gen Z are more relaxed about drink-driving than their parents and grandparents - with a new cut in the legal limit on the horizon.

Research shows that just under two-thirds of people aged 18 to 27 believe the safest option when driving is to avoid alcohol altogether, compared with more than four-fifths of the population as a whole.

In a survey of over 2,000 adults, including around 1,300 licensed drivers, more than a third of Gen Z respondents said they felt it was socially acceptable to drive when slightly above the legal alcohol limit. 

This compares with fewer than one in ten baby boomers who shared that view.

Gen Z is generally understood to include people born between 1997 and 2012. 

The government is preparing to publish its long-awaited road safety strategy early next year, in what is expected to mark the most significant overhaul of driving regulations for nearly 20 years.

Among the proposed measures is a cut to the legal drink-driving limit in England and Wales, from 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 22 micrograms, bringing it into line with Scotland.

Under Scotland’s lower threshold, some drivers can reach or exceed the limit after consuming a single pint of higher-strength lager, typically above 4.5 per cent ABV, although alcohol tolerance varies between individuals. 

The government is preparing to publish its long-awaited road safety strategy early next year, in what is expected to mark the most significant overhaul of driving regulations for nearly 20 years

Matt Pernet, the head of Direct Line motor insurance, said: Worryingly, though, some in the newest cohort of drivers — those in Gen Z — seem to have a gap in their understanding, especially regarding how alcohol affects the body

Matt Pernet, the head of Direct Line motor insurance, said to the Times: 'Worryingly, though, some in the newest cohort of drivers — those in Gen Z — seem to have a gap in their understanding, especially regarding how alcohol affects the body.' 

The reduced limit is intended to reinforce the message that there is no safe level of drinking before getting behind the wheel.

The survey, commissioned by Direct Line Insurance, showed that only 64 per cent of 18 to 27-year-olds believed the safest approach was to not drink at all when driving, compared with 83 per cent of the wider population.

The Department for Transport show that drivers under 30 were involved in more than a third of all drink-driving collisions.