A woman's car insurance company is urging the government to extend penalties to drink drivers after a survey found that many drivers think that they are treated too lightly.
In their study, Privilege Insurance discovered that three out of five motorists felt sentences for drink drivers were too lenient at the moment.
The motor insurance company, which specialises in cheap car insurance for women, has recently put forward a proposal to MPs over the issue of using alco-locks to prevent convicted drink drivers from repeating the offence.
An alco-lock is a device which fits onto the ignition of a car and will prevent it from being started until a clear breath sample is provided.
The proposal recommended that a drink driver should have to use an alco-lock for a minimum of six months following a conviction of the offence. This suggestion is widely supported by motorists, with 55% of those surveyed declaring their support for it.
Although the Road Safety Bill, which takes into account the use of alco-locks, is going through Parliament at the moment, the woman's car insurance provider says that its own tougher suggestion have greater support for usage.
The Road Safety Bill currently states that drink drivers will be allowed back on the roads earlier if the offenders pay for the alco-locks themselves.
Kate Syred of Privilege commented: "The driving public are sending a clear message to the government - toughen up the penalties for drink drivers."
The results of the study revealed that those who want the harshest sentences for drink drivers are women, people aged over 50 and drivers with a 4+ year no claims bonus.