A RECORD number of women have been convicted of drink-driving, with offences up by 60% over the past decade. By contrast, the number of male offenders has begun to fall.

Early figures for the preChristmas period indicate that the trend is accelerating as women ape men’s drinking and lifestyle habits.

The increase has alarmed police forces as well as motoring groups such as the AA and the RAC, which are now urging the government to launch a drink-drive campaign targeting women.

Figures released by the Department for Transport show that the number of women who failed breath tests after road accidents and injuries across Britain increased from 869 in 1995 to 1,040 in 2006 – a rise of nearly 20%.

Meanwhile, figures published by the Ministry of Justice show that the number of women found guilty of drink or drug-driving offences rose by 60% in England and Wales in the 10 years from 1995 to 2005.

Women account for 12% of all convictions, compared with just 7% in 1995. Although men still constitute the vast majority of offenders, the number of male offenders dropped by 3% between 2004 and 2005.

“More and more women are drinking pints, and more women are behaving like men, even behind the wheel,” said Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA.

“Men still make up the vast majority of drink-drive offenders,” said Sheila Rainger, acting director of the RAC Foundation. “But we are seeing a worrying rise in the number of women who are driving while over the limit.

“This is one side effect of increased equality that we really don’t want to see. As well as competing in the workplace, women are also gaining on men in terms of aggressive driving and speeding as well as driving under the influence of drink and drugs.”

As well as the ladette culture, Rainger blames the example of celebrities such as the Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress.

“The example set by Hollywood actresses does contribute – these are role models for young women,” Rainger said.

In June, Hilton, 26, started a 45-day prison sentence for driving while banned, which followed her original ban for alcohol-related reckless driving.

Lohan, the 21-year-old star of Mean Girls, was sentenced in August to four days in jail for drink-driving and possessing cocaine, although she served just 84 minutes.

However, the government does not collect drink-driving statistics by age, other than to note what proportion of those convicted of drink-driving are under 21. Between 1995 and 2005 the proportion was 10%.

The statistics for the period before Christmas are to be broken down by gender for the first time. Early figures issued for Scotland by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland show that in the first three weeks of December, 105 of the 657 motorists arrested for drink-driv-ing offences (16%) were women.

Although the number of women drivers is increasing, it does not account for more thana small proportion of the increase in female drink-driving.

The government is considering reducing the alcohol drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, to bring the UK in line with most other European countries.

The current limit equates to about four units, or two pints of regular-strength lager, for a man of average height and build, and three units, or less than two small glasses of wine, for women.

Motoring groups say many women are not familiar with the limits even though they have been in place since 1967. A recent survey of 4,000 motorists of both sexes found that more than 80% did not know the current limit.

Kay Octigan, who runs a drink-driving awareness course for Devon county council, said: “A lot of people still equate one unit with one glass and, as a lot of women drink wine, that can mean a huge miscalculation. Wine can have an alcohol content of 14% these days and one large glass of wine can be 250ml. That means one glass could easily push you over the limit.

“People can be affected very differently, depending on their body chemistry and how much they’ve eaten, so the only sensible advice is simply not to mix drinking and driving at all.”

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