People do not know how long alcohol remains in the bloodstream

Just 70% of drivers agreed that driving the morning after a drinking session was extremely or very dangerous, compared with 90% when questioned about driving the same day as drinking.

"These findings show that we still need to achieve a cultural change to make this 'morning after motoring' socially unacceptable," said RAC spokeswoman Rebecca Bell.

Lack of knowledge about 'morning after motoring' continues despite a string of high-profile cases.

Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie was recently given a year-long driving ban after failing a breath test at 0730 after drinking at a family party the night before.

Hendrie was invited to take part in an alcohol education scheme.

Ms Bell said the most complacent group towards 'morning after motoring' were younger, affluent, male motorists, and those living in London and south-east England.

Company car drivers were also among the more complacent.

Alcohol-heavy events

She added: "Companies need to ensure their employees aren't forced to drive after a night of heavy drinking.

"This is a real issue for those attending events and conferences where an excess of alcohol may well be consumed."

But the RAC's Drink, Drugs and Driving report also found 90% of motorists thought driving while well over the alcohol limit to be a particularly grave crime - nearly at the same level as armed robbery and worse than burglary or mugging of the elderly.

Ms Bell said: "This confirms that a car in the hands of a drink-driver is perceived - and rightly so - as a potentially lethal weapon on a par with a gun."

The RAC report also found about a quarter of drivers did not fully understand the dangers of driving when their ability could be impaired by the medicines they were taking.

The findings came from a survey of 1,000 regular drivers, including 250 company car drivers.