The money is being offered by the charity Crimestoppers in a new nationwide scheme attempting to cut accidents over the festive period.

The trust says tip-offs will be passed on to traffic police, without the name of the informer being given.

Rewards will be given for information which leads to an arrest and charge.

What do you think about this? Would you be prepared to inform on drink-drivers?

This Talking Point has now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

In my experience it doesn't do any good - you'll just get referred to the switchboards and regarded as a crank...
Huw, UK

Asking people to grass on their neighbours sounds very similar to tactics the Gestapo and KGB used in the past.
Martin, England

Excellent idea. Many people above 50 still think drink driving is acceptable.
Dermot Jones, Wales

He realised it was me Emiley, England

Drink driving was implicated in less than 10% of accidents last Christmas. Why the obsession with such an insignificant proportion of the accident problem?
Phil Thompson, UK

I have informed the police of a drink driver, I asked them to be discreet and not tell him that someone had reported it but they did and he realised it was me. It caused me a lot of trouble and I was discouraged from doing it again. But I still believe I did the right thing.
Emiley, England

I would stop them drink driving in the first place. On a couple of occasions after a social event I've persuaded people to sleep on my folding bed in the lounge rather than drive home. It's better to have to persuade the wife of the driver that they did just crash out in your house, than have a friend or colleague lose their licence as well as risk lives.
Linda, UK

I don't think I'd phone the police about a total stranger. I see plenty of appalling driving on the roads every day, and I doubt all those responsible are drunk - they're just incompetent. The police can't cope with the levels of crime we have now - are they likely to be able to respond to a call about dodgy driving in time to do any good?
Linda, UK

I lost my mother at the age of 10 months to a drunk driver on the wrong side of the road, and would have no hesitation in shopping a drunk driver - even a friend or loved one. If someone puts someone else's life at risk by controlling over a tonne of metal whilst drunk, should they ultimately EVER be allowed to drive again once being caught?!
Rod, UK

Will people who inform on others be punished if it was found to be a deliberate act of malice? Paul, UK

Surely it is up to the police to enforce the drink driving laws - not the public? If the UK had a zero level of blood/alcohol then would be clear that any alcohol would not be tolerated. The current system relies on people judging how fit they are to drive after having a drink - unfortunately the fact that you have had a drink makes this judgement more difficult.
Will people who inform on others be punished if it was found to be a deliberate act of malice? If the system is to be effective then the identity of the informant must be known to prevent deliberate misuse.
Paul, UK

I've already informed on a drink driver and I feel proud about it. He was so drunk it took him ages to even manage to get into his car, having refused my help to get him a taxi (and no I didn't know him) then he drove off home. So I phoned the police on my mobile and I understand they got him a couple of hundred of yards down the road. If I hadn't phoned the police and I found that he had killed someone that night then I really would have felt shame. One of my neighbours was killed by a drink driver earlier this year - I bet her family wishes someone had informed on that driver as well!
Annon, Wales

What with speed cameras and people ringing in about drunk drivers, there won't be any work left for the police... they'll have to start catching burglars again!
Peter Connolly, England

I personally would tell the police about drink drivers, however money is not the incentive for me here as saving lives is, so I would tell them to give it to charity.
Jason, Manchester, England

I think that "shopping" over the limit drivers is very difficult to do as the police would be very slow to catch these people within their busy and specialist days.
Dave P, UK

Yes, I would. If you want to drive, don't drink. If you want to drink, don't drive. If the permitted level was zero there would be less confusion.
Foz, UK

I wouldn't shop anyone, because by the time they get caught it could be too late. Instead, rather than watching them get into their car as I rub my hands in pleasure, I wouldn't allow them to get into the car in the first place.
Steve, England

Drunk drivers in my opinion are potential murderers and should be treated as such. If you get into a car you are in charge of a heavy weapon. If you have had alcohol (which is one of the most potent drugs) and then drive you now have no control over this vehicle. �500 for shopping a drunk driver? Yup, bring them on... but I want these people to lose their licences forever.
Pat Evans, England

This is the latest in a line of worryingly authoritarian nonsense from this increasingly right-wing government Tom, England

Maybe we could extend this to all crimes so we have a nation of informers and a real police state at last - perhaps children could be encouraged to shop their parents for tax evasion, or parents to shop their children for not having a TV licence while at college - this is the latest in a line of worryingly authoritarian nonsense from this increasingly right-wing government.
Tom, England

You should not drink at all if you want to drive. However, I am concerned about spying on your neighbours - seems a bit Orwellian to me.
R, UK

I have informed before - once when my car was hit in a car park by someone who had just had five pints. He then drove off without exchanging insurance details. The second was a car that was on the motorway then on to the A5. We called the police who then spoke to us for 20 minutes. The car even went past the police station to make life easier for them and nothing was done! The driver had hit the kerb several times and gone through a red light. It's no good asking the public if the police do not intend to do anything!
Matt, UK

Zero tolerance is what's required Stephen, Scotland

Absolutely! These idiots should lose their licence permanently if caught. Zero tolerance is what's required as there's no excuse for it.
Stephen, Scotland

No I wouldn't. People in Britain have little privacy living so close together as it is - no wonder neighbour disputes are so common. If drink-driving is such a big problem then fund and recruit extra police or volunteer police. Why should people have to spy on each other to save money? I can see it creating more problems than it solves.
Tracy, US/UK

Tracy, US/UK: It's to save lives, not money!
Andy, UK

Of course I would shop persistent drink drivers. I am a health worker and have often had to help pick the broken bodies, lives and dreams after accidents caused by drink-driving.
Ada, UK

This seems like a super way to maliciously make someone else's life a misery. I would use it to persecute my enemies and ill-wishers - if there was no risk of police retribution.
David Innes, England

I don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't shop someone for drink driving - it must be one of the most self-centred crimes, and one that has the potential to be lethal to the driver and others, all because the driver could not avoid drinking, or finding a means of getting from A to B without driving. This crime should be made to be completely socially unacceptable, to decrease the likelihood of anyone thinking it might be worth them getting away with it.
Peter, England

For all its laudably altruistic motives, this is a shabby idea which plays on the worst traits of human behaviour Chris B, England

My own brother was killed by a drunk driver nearly 40 years ago. In those days there was no testing for alcohol and no punishment as such for drink-driving. He got off with a caution. Since then I have been an only child and it changed the course of my life and my family's. No doubt that influenced my feelings and opinions but everyone knows the law and also the possible consequences of driving under the influence. As such I have no sympathy at all with people (including relatives) who lose or have lost their licences. I would tell the police if someone was persistently driving in a state of intoxication and feel it a duty to public safety to do so.
Lynda Williams, US/ex-UK

If you have reason to report dangerous behaviour you really shouldn't need a �500 incentive to pick up the phone. For all its laudably altruistic motives, this is a shabby idea which plays on the worst traits of human behaviour. Do it if you like - but reappraise your sense of decency and give the money to charity.
Chris B, England

One life saved is enough. I would dob them in.
Peter, London UK

Informing on drink-drivers has the potential of saving lives, so yes I would inform on them, with or without a reward.
Martin C, UK

Anyone who goes out in a car expressly knowing that they are going to have a drink should in my opinion be charged with murder if, God forbid, they caused a fatal accident. If I knew someone who I know had been drinking was going to use a car, I would try to convince them to get a lift or a taxi. If they point blank refused, then yes, I'd shop them, and I wouldn't want the �500 either.
Kevin Rothery, UK

Anyone who would not inform on drink drivers is insane. When are people going to realise the real carnage that this causes? As the Australian ads say: "If you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot." If you wouldn't inform on them, you better pray they don't kill you or one of your family.
Nick Johnston, UK

Why don't the police concentrate on prosecuting bad drivers, not just targeting ones over the limit? Harry, England

Why don't the police concentrate on prosecuting bad drivers, not just targeting ones over the limit - alcohol affects different people in different ways and some of us drive better after two pints than most people drive when stone cold sober!
Harry, England

Harry from England: Drivers who drive over the limit are bad drivers. If you think you are a better driver with two pints inside, you are exactly the kind of driver that should be reported.
Roger, England

It is just this kind of arrogance on the roads, Harry from England, which I would gladly help to stamp out by reporting you immediately. Anyone who thinks they can drive competently after two pints should not be behind a wheel.
Debbie, UK

So it's come to this? The police are reduced to paying for information! What's happened to society in this country, that this idea should even be broached, let alone implemented. Thank heavens that there are some people who are stating that they'd report a crime without a reward. There is hope, after all.
John Smith, UK

I would be very tempted to report a person who has been drinking and when asked not to drive still gets into the car. After all, it is not just about bending the metal but the possibility of taking someone's life
Brandy, UK

I guess this is another way of the police not having to do their jobs? I live opposite a pub and at the end of the working day I see loads of builders' vans and rep-mobiles going into the car park. They come out between one and six hours later. I don't think all these macho guys are drinking lemonade, do you? Funny thing is I never see a cop car waiting to check them out. What sort of evidence would be required to lead to arrest? Would they just take my word for it?
Mike W, UK