Nearly one-third of drivers in Latvia admit that they sometimes get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. This is according to data from the “Carlsberg 0.0 Responsible Driving Index,” developed in cooperation with the Safe Driving School and the research centre Norstat.

According to the survey, 32 percent of Latvian drivers say they at least occasionally drive after drinking alcohol. A year earlier, the figure stood at 31 percent, meaning that the overall scale of the problem has not changed significantly. However, the data on driving above the legal blood alcohol limit are more concerning. The share of respondents who admit to having driven with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 0.5 per mille rose from 5 to 6 percent.

The survey also shows a clear difference between men and women. Among men, 42 percent admit to driving after drinking, compared with 19 percent of women. The gap is even wider when it comes to driving above the legal limit: 10 percent of men and 2 percent of women say they have driven with more than 0.5 per mille of alcohol in their blood.

The youngest drivers appear to be the most responsible compared with other age groups. Among respondents aged 18–29, as many as 78 percent said they had never driven after consuming alcohol.

The biggest year-on-year change was recorded among drivers aged 60–74. Last year, 77 percent of respondents in this group said they had not driven after drinking alcohol. In the latest survey, that figure fell to 65 percent. At the same time, the proportion of drivers in this age group who admit to driving above the 0.5 per mille limit rose from 2 to 6 percent.

A worrying increase was also recorded among drivers aged 50–59. In this group, the share of respondents who admit to driving above the legal limit increased from 7 percent to 11 percent. The opposite trend can be seen among drivers aged 40–49. In this group, the proportion of those who say they have never driven after drinking rose from 61 to 70 percent, while driving above the legal limit fell from 8 to 5 percent.

The findings suggest that drunk driving remains a serious social and road safety challenge in Latvia. Although most drivers declare responsible behaviour, a significant share of respondents still admit to practices that can lead to tragic consequences on the roads.

The survey was conducted in April 2025 among 1,000 Latvian residents aged 18 to 74.